THE  LADY 

OF"  THE 

LIGHT 

HOUSE 


HELEN  >S.  WOODRUFF 


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THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 
HELEN        S.        WOODRUFF 


.  OF  CALIF.  LIBRARY,  LOS 


By     HELEN     S.     WOODRUFF 
MIS'     BEAUTY 

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THE    LADY    OF    THE    LIGHTHOUSE 

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GEORGE  H.  DOR  AN  COMPANY 
NEW  YORK 


THE  LADY 


THE  LADY  OF  THE 

LIGHCHOUSE 

BY 
HELEN  ^WOODRUFF 


JDecoRations  fay 


NEW  VOBK 
GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT,  1913, 
BY  GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


K.3  W««i  CHW 


2133900 


AUTHOR'S   NOTE 

rr*HERE  is  a  real  "Lady  of  the  Lighthouse" 
I     and  this  book  is  inspired  by  her.     But  the 
book  is  not  a  portrait  of  her,  nor  is  its  story 
her  story.     On  the  other  hand,  the  accounts  of  the 
methods  for  cheering  and  helping  the  blind  are  all 
based  on  fact.    An  able  worker  at  the  real  " Light- 
house" has  read  the  book  and  has  approved  its 
fidelity  in  that  regard. 

And  now  the  real   "Lady  of  the  Lighthouse" 
reads  it  for  the  first  time. 

August  22, 1913. 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 


WAS  Christmas  Day.  The  Lady 
of  the  Lighthouse  closed  the  door 
behind  her,  ran  down  the  steps  and 
looked  at  the  snow-caressed  world 
about  her. 

The  brownstone  houses  across  the 
street,  festive  with  their  wreaths  of 
holly  in  every  window,  seemed  to 
send  to  her  their  greetings,  and  she 
smiled    happily.       Then,    as    though 
summoned  by  that  very  smile,  there 
appeared  in  the  window  opposite  the 
pale,  wistful  face  of  a  little  boy,  and 
close  beside  it  that  of  an  old  negro 
woman. 

The   lady  paused   and,   raising 
one    long    slim    hand,    waved 
gaily  to  the  pair. 
The  negro's  kindly  wrinkled 
face  broke  into  an  answer- 
ing smile,  and  stooping 
she    said    something 
to   the  child.     He 
pressed  closer  to 


12       THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

the  window,  and  raising  his  hand  waved  it  to  her; 
and  though  she  could  see  a  wan  smile  flicker  across 
his  face,  she  also  saw  that  his  big  round  eyes  held  no 
responsive  gleam. 

"He's  blind!"  she  exclaimed.  "The  poor  little 
darling!"  tears  quickly  rilling  her  own  eyes;  and  she 
stood  gazing  across  at  the  little  stricken  face. 

She  had  never  seen  either  of  the  two  before,  and 
did  not  know  to  whom  they  belonged,  this  sweet 
faced  old  negress,  so  plainly  an  old-fashioned  Mam- 
my, nor  the  small  blind  boy  beside  her.  Should  she 
cross  over,  she  wondered,  ring,  and  ask  to  go  up  and 
see  the  child?  She  felt  she  would  like  to  do  so, 
but  realized  it  was  a  thing  that  his  parents  might 
well  resent;  a  thing  that  few,  if  any,  would  do  in 
New  York.  And  yet,  on  this  day  set  apart  by  all 
her  world  for  celebration  of  the  glad  tidings  it 
commemorates,  should  she  fail  to  find  and  comfort 
this  little  darkened  life  with  her  message  of  glad 
tidings? 

She  decided  that  she  would  go,  and  again  waving 
her  hand  at  the  pair,  swiftly  crossed  the  street,  ran 
up  the  steps  below  them,  and  rang  the  bell. 

The  door  opened  and  a  man  in  livery  stood  stiffly 
aside. 

"Good  morning!  Merry  Christmas!"  she  said. 
"Who  lives  here,  please?"  and  without  waiting  for 
his  answer  she  stepped  inside  the  door. 

The  man's  face  showed  signs  of  almost  human  in- 
telligence, even  emotion,  for  a  moment  at  the  unex- 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE        13 

pectedness  of  her  greeting,  but  he  as  quickly  con- 
trolled himself  and  gazed  at  the  lady  stoically. 
America  was  a  queer  place,  and  he,  so  lately  from 
dear  old  England,  must  not  be  taken  off  his  guard. 
So  he  stood  respectfully  by  and  let  her  repeat  the 
question. 

"Who  lives  here — James? — for  you  are  named 
James,  aren't  you?"  she  continued  with  a  twinkle, 
looking  him  up  and  down. 

"Yes,  my  Lady.  James  'Enery,"  he  replied,  see- 
ing nothing  funny  in  the  situation.  She  was  beau- 
tifully dressed,  and  he  was  English  enough  to  know 
intuitively  that  she  was  "of  class;"  so  following  the 
rule  he  had  adopted  early  in  life,  to  use  a  title  when 
in  doubt,  he  answered  her  further: 

"Mr.  Vaughn  lives  here,  my  Lady." 

"I'd  like  to  speak  to  Mrs,  Vaughn,  James  Henry," 
she  announced,  throwing  back  her  furs  and  sweeping 
into  the  drawing-room. 

His  jaw  dropped.  "Begging  your  Ladyship's 
pardon,  but  there  ain't  no  Missis.  Only  the  Master's 
stopping  in  and  'e's  hout,"  he  announced  solemnly. 

The  Lady  of  the  Lighthouse  laughed. 

"Well,  then,  James,  I'll  speak  to  him"  and  she  set- 
tled herself  in  a  chair. 

The  butler  did  not  move.  "But  'e's  really  hout, 
my  Lady!" 

"Oh,"  she  again  laughed,  "I  guess  I  didn't  quite 
understand.  Well,  I  tell  you,  James,"  she  continued, 
standing  up  and  drawing  a  bill  from  her  pocketbook 


14       THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

and  walking  over  to  him,  "there's  something  you  can 
do  for  me.  Here's  a  Christmas  present  for  you.  I 
want  to  speak  to  Mammy — upstairs,"  pointing. 
"Little  Master's  nurse.  Understand?" 

"Yes,  my  Lady,"  he  replied,  folding  the  bill  in  his 
palm.  "  'Ere,  my  Lady?" 

"Yes,  here,"  she  said.  "But  hurry,  for  I  haven't 
long  to  stay!"  ,  . 

He  cast  a  gentle  look  of  reproof  at  her  as  she 
turned  away  and  reseated  herself.  Why  was  it,  he 
wondered,  that  everyone  in  America  told  him  to 
hurry?  Then,  sighing  inaudibly,  he  left  the  room. 

The  Lady  of  the  Lighthouse  sat  musing.  Was 
her  conduct  in  thus  gaining  admission  to  the  child 
reprehensible?  She  knew  it  would  be  considered 
so  by  some,  and  she  herself  did  not  like  entering  this 
stranger's  house  as  she  was  doing;  but  yet,  as  the 
boy's  wistful  face  rose  before  her  mind's  eye,  she 
could  not  help  feeling  that  she  was  acting  for  the 
right.  A  little  blind  child  had  sent  a  signal  of  dis- 
tress from  out  his  gloom,  and  she,  the  Lighthouse 
Keeper,  had  seen  it  and  could  help  him.  She  arose, 
determined  to  carry  out  her  plan  whatever  hap- 
pened, and  stood  as  the  oLd  negro  woman  entered 
the  room  and  curtsied. 

"Good  morning!  Merry  Christmas!"  she  said, 
smiling  at  the  quaint  darky. 

"Law,  thankee,  honey,"  Mammy  beamed,  taking 
in  at  a  glance  the  tall,  richly  gowned  figure  and  its 
exquisitely  modeled  face.  "De  same  to  you  an'  as 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE        15 

many  mo'  as  a  flower  like  you  deserves!  Did  yer 
sen'  fer  me?" 

"Yes,  Mammy,"  she  replied,  stepping  closer  and 
looking  at  her  earnestly.  "I  want  to  see  your  little 
Master.  He's  blind,  isn't  he?" 

The  woman's  eyes  filled  with  tears,  and  wiping 
them  away  with  her  snowy  apron  she  seemed  about 
to  lead  her  to  him,  when,  suddenly  checking  herself, 
she  shook  her  head  sadly. 

"I  jes'  can't,  Missy,"  she  said  plaintively.  "For- 
give me,  but  his  pa  an'  me  is  de  onlyest  ma  he's  got, 
an'  we'se  done  made  up  our  min's  to  protec'  him 
from  de  gaze  of  de  worl',  an'  not  let  folks  know  how 
'flicted  he  are." 

The  lady  was  touched  by  the  old  nurse's  loyalty, 
but  experience  had  taught  her  just  how  wrong  such 
protection  was,  and  so  she  argued  gently: 

"But  I'm  here  to  help  you!  Come,  take  me  to 
him.  This  is  our  Saviour's  birthday,"  moving  nearer 
the  door,  "and  I'm  sure  He  has  sent  me  to  show 
your  little  blind  boy  'the  Light  in  the  East.'  Come, 
show  me  where  he  is." 

Her  head  was  thrown  back,  a  smile  parted  her 
lips,  and  as  the  negress  looked  at  her  all  the  mis- 
givings she  had  felt  about  the  matter  vanished,  and 
motioning  her  to  follow,  she  led  the  way  up  the 
broad  white  stairs  to  a  door  at  the  top. 

"Here  he  are,  Missy,"  she  whispered,  opening  the 
door  and  standing  aside  writh  a  curtsy. 

The  Lady  of  the  Lighthouse  stepped  inside  the 


16        THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

room,  and  her  eyes  fell  upon  an  empty  Christmas 
stocking  at  her  feet,  its  contents  lying  deserted  upon 
the  floor,  and  then  looking  further  she  saw  the  little 
boy  himself  huddled,  desolate  and  forlorn,  in  a  big 
chair  nearby.  His  face  was  buried  in  its  cushions, 
but  at  the  sound  of  her  approach  he  lifted  big  blue 
eyes  toward  her — eyes  that  were  made  for  love  and 
laughter,  but  were  now  so  strangely  stilled  and  sad- 
dened— and  began  to  cry.  It  was  a  low,  puzzled  wail 
of  anguish,  hopeless  and  pitiful  in  its  unlikeness  to 
the  cry  of  an  ordinary  child,  and  the  lady's  heart 
ached  in  sympathy  as  she  stood,  unable  to  go  closer 
to  him  for  a  moment. 

"Sunshiny-boy,  darlin',"  Mammy  said,  herself  go- 
ing across  and  putting  her  arms  about  him,  "a  lady's 
corned  to  see  you,  so  doan  cry.  Be  a  nice  little 
gemman  fer  Mammy.  Dar,  dar  honey!"  But  at 
her  words  he  clung  to  her,  convulsively  sobbing  as 
though  his  heart  would  break. 

"The  poor  little  fellow!"  the  lady  murmured,  and 
crossing  over  too,  she  joined  Mammy  where  she 
knelt  by  his  side. 

"Dear,"  she  addressed  him,  and  at  the  sound  of 
her  gentle,  vibrant  voice  he  ceased  crying  to  listen, 
turning  his  face  to  hers,  "I've  come  to  help  you. 
Don't  be  afraid,  I'm  Miss  Hope;  and  my  other 
little  boys  like  you  call  me  'The  Lady  of  the  Light- 
house.' Wouldn't  you  like  for  me  to  show  you  how 
I  play  with  them?  I  know  lots  of  nice  games!" 

The  child's  wide  eyes  stared  unseeingly  into  hers; 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE        17 

then  he  wailed  in  sudden  terror.  "No,  no.  Go 
'way!  I  can't  see  you.  It's  all  night!  Mammy, 
Mammy!"  and  he  threw  himself  from  where  he  sat 
into  the  arms  quickly  held  out  to  catch  him,  and 
lay  sobbing  upon  the  woman's  breast 

"Oh,  Missy,"  she  choked,  "he's  always  dis  way 
when  anything  new  happens.  I  oughten  ter  let  yer 
come!  Dar,  Mammy's  boy!  I  ain't  gwiner  let  noth- 
in'  git  yer!"  Then  to  the  lady  again:  "We  dassent 
let  him  even  walk  about,  less  de  furncher's  all  fixed," 
pointing  towards  it  shrouded  with  cotton  at  its  sharp 
edges.  "An'  he  doan  understan',  my  po'  baby!"  sob- 
bing herself  by  now,  and  rocking  back  and  forth. 

"How  long  has  he  been  so?"  Miss  Hope  asked  in 
a  low  voice. 

"Nearly  two  months,"  the  woman  replied,  patting 
and  soothing  the  little  shaking  form.  "Scarlet  fever, 
an'  hit  lef  him  dis  a'  way." 

"It's  all  night,"  the  boy  moaned,  breaking  out  in 
another  paroxysm,  "and  I  can't  see!  Make  her  go 
'way!" 

"Shu-u-u,  Shiny,  shu-u-u;  doan  talk  dat  a'  way," 
she  begged.  "He  thinks  you'se  a  strange  doctor,  or 
somethin',"  she  whisperingly  explained.  "Dey's 
nearly  pestered  de  life  outen  him,  po'  chile!  But 
dar  darlin',  doan  cry  no  mo'!  Please  don't!" 

Miss  Hope  started  to  rise  to  her  feet,  then  changing 
her  mind  stayed  where  she  was,  while  the  child  con- 
tinued his  frightened  sobbing.  She  understood  per- 
fectly how  he  felt;  how  when  he  had  been  suddenly 


shut  off  in  darkness  things  once  familiar  to  him  had 
become  menacing  terrors;  for  she,  too,  years  before, 
had  gone  through  the  same  thing.  And  so  she  knew 
just  what  the  little  fellow  before  her  was  suffering 
now. 

"Sunshiny-boy,"  she  said,  persuasively,  using  the 
pretty  whimsical  title  that  the  woman  had  used, 
"don't  cry.  I  want  to  teach  you  how  you  can  see. 
Wouldn't  you  like  to  know?"  and  she  reached  for 
one  of  his  hands.  "I'm  the  Lady  of  the  Lighthouse; 
all  my  little  boys  call  me  that,  as  I  told  you  just  now, 
because  they  are  blind,  too,  and  I  teach  them  how  to 
see  with  their  fingers." 

The  child  hushed  a  moment  and  looked  towards 
her. 

"What's  his  name,  Mammy?"  she  asked  in  a  lower 
tone. 

"Victor  Vaughn  Junior,"  the  negress  answered; 
then  volunteered  further,  "Victor  Vaughn's  fer  his 
pa,  but  I  never  is  made  out  who  de  Junior's  fer!" 

"Victor,"  Miss  Hope  said,  gently  drawing  his 
hand  within  her  own  and  putting  it  on  her  lips, 
"what  do  you  feel?" 

He  sobbed  again  convulsively,  trying  to  snatch  his 
hand  away,  but  she  held  to  it  and  forced  it  up  to 
his  own  lips.  "And  now  what  do  you  feel?" 

'He  almost  hushed,  interested  in  spite  of  himself 
by  this  time,  and  she  said,  "It's  your  mouth,  dear; 
and  this,"  again  putting  his  fingers  over  her  lips,  "is 
my  mouth;  and  this"  drawing  him  closer  and  kiss- 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE        19 

ing  him,  "is  our  two  mouths."  Then  moving  his 
hand  back  and  forth  again  and  again  she  continued, 
"And  this  is  my  nose,  and  this  is  your  nose;  and  these 
are  my  eyes,  and  those  are  your  eyes,"  and  so  on, 
until  she  had  made  him  feel  the  contour  of  each  of 
their  features,  talking  to  him  quietly,  with  reassur- 
ing pats  the  while. 

His  sobs  grew  less  and  less  frightened  until  they 
ceased  entirely,  and  as  she  arose  and  took  him  upon 
her  lap  his  face  brightened  with  a  hopeful  interest, 
and  cuddling  up  to  her  he  whispered,  "Show  me 
more,  Light-lady,  show  me  more!" 

One  by  one  she  took  up  his  toys,  so  lately  of  no 
interest  to  him,  and,  making  him  feel  them,explained 
each  curve  and  angle  of  their  outline.  It  was  won- 
derful to  see  his  little  face  grow  happier  as  he  began 
to  understand  dimly  the  import  of  her  lesson,  and 
the  old  woman  \vatching  sat  spell-bound,  her  heart 
telling  her  that  the  little  darkened  life  that  she  treas- 
ured so  much  was  at  last  beginning  to  find  a  Light. 

"And  so,  Victor  boy,"  the  Lady  of  the  Lighthouse 
concluded,  "you  really  have  ten  eyes  here,"  counting 
his  chubby  fingers,  "instead  of  only  two  with  which 
to  see  everything  beautiful." 

"Lawdy!"  Mammy  broke  in,  as  they  heard  a  step 
upon  the  stairs,  "Dar's  Mr.  Vicky!"  and  before  any 
of  them  could  move  a  tall  man  with  a  deeply  serious 
face  appeared  in  the  doorway. 

He  stared  at  the  picture  that  met  his  gaze;  the 
beautiful  stranger  seated  in  front  of  him,  and  on  her 


20        THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

lap  his  little  son  apparently  happier  than  he  had 
been  for  many  weeks. 

Miss  Hope  stood  Victor  down  and  rose,  keeping 
hold  of  his  hand  however.  Her  head  was  thrown 
back  in  a  characteristic  gesture,  but  she  smiled  as  she 
said  simply,  "I'm  Miss  Hope,  Mr.  Vaughn.  Your 
neighbor,"  waving  towards  the  opposite  side  of  the 
street.  "I  trust  you  don't  think  me  presumptuous, 
but  I  could  not  help  coming!  I  saw  your  son  from 
his  window — and  knew  he  needed  me." 

The  man  was  still  too  surprised  to  answer,  save 
by  an  involuntary  step  forward,  and  she  continued: 

"/  was  once  as  he  is  now," — her  voice  was  very  low 
and  sweet, — "and  since  then  I've  been  trying  to  help 
all  God's  'night  children'  find  the  Light;  and  oh,  it's 
a  wonderful  work!"  her  enthusiasm  breaking 
through  her  reserve.  "And  I'm  so  thankful  to  have 
found  Victor!  And  he's  glad,  too;  aren't  you,  dear?" 

The  child  clutched  her  hand  more  closely  for 
answer,  his  big  eyes  staring  about  the  room,  vainly 
endeavoring  to  see  his  father. 

Mr.  Vaughn  looked  at  him  and  tears  filled  his  eyes. 
This  little  son  stood  for  all  that  was  worth  while  in 
his  life;  love,  ambition,  inspiration,  everything;  and 
to  have  him  thus  afflicted,  made  different  from  the 
normal  healthy  boy  he  had  always  been,  almost 
killed  him.  But  now  he  frowned  and  drew  back. 
"I  do  not  want  to  seem  inhospitable,  Miss  Hope," 
he  said,  and  she  bit  her  lip  at  his  tone,  "in  fact,  I 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE        21 

appreciate  your  kindness,  but  it's  my  desire  that  no 
one  see  my  boy  as  he  is  now." 

He  felt  embittered  with  the  world.  His  marriage 
had  not  been  a  happy  one,  but  finally  happiness  had 
come  at  the  birth  of  his  son.  This,  however,  was 
quickly  followed  by  his  wife's  death  and  the  ques- 
tions of  doubt  and  half-remorse  which  that  had 
raised  in  his  mind;  and  now,  little  Victor's  blindness! 
The  doctors  had  told  him  that  very  day  that  the  boy 
would  probably  never  regain  his  sight. 

Miss  Hope  colored  deeply,  let  go  of  Victor's 
hand,  took  a  step  forward  as  though  about  to  quit  the 
room,  then  holding  her  head  at  a  haughtier  angle, 
but  with  a  softened  look  in  her  eyes,  stopped  and 
said  quietly:  "You  are  a  very  foolish  man  and  I  shall 
not  allow  you  to  be  so  unjust!" 

Mr.  Vaughn  looked  his  astonishment  and  she 
went  on:  "I  appreciate  your  feeling  in  a  way;  but 
I  don't  believe  you  can  justify  it  yourself.  Because 
you  do  not  want  other  people  to  see  or  know  of  your 
sorrow,  will  you  deliberately  cut  your  son  off  from 
the  world?  It's  not  fair,"  she  argued;  "he's  entitled 
to  it  and  its  pleasures  as  much  as  you  are!  And  I'm 
sure  you're  not  going  to  deny  me  the  pleasure  of 
helping  him  have  ten  eyes  instead  of  two;  for  this 
morning  he's  begun  using  his  finger-eyes,  haven't 
you,  dear?" 

"Yes,  Daddy-boy,"  Victor  broke  in,  holding  up 
both  hands,  fingers  outspread,  "ten  eyes!  And  oh, 
I  want  to  learn,  I  want  to!" 


22        THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

"Then  you  shall,  Little-man,"  his  father  answered, 
striding  forward  and  catching  him  up  upon  his 
shoulder.  And  turning  he  continued,  "Thank  you, 
Miss  Hope,"  his  voice  breaking  as  he  spoke;  "I've 
been  selfish,  though  I  didn't  realize  it  before  now.  I 
couldn't  bear  to  acknowledge  the  truth " 

"Yes,  I  know,"  she  said  sympathetically. 

"But  now " 

"Now,"  she  caught  him  up,  "I  must  go  on  down 
to  my  Lighthouse,  for  my  lights,  big  and  small,  are 
awaiting  me  there.  May  Victor  go  with  me?  We 
are  having  our  men's  Christmas-tree  this  morning." 

Mr.  Vaughn  held  his  son  more  closely,  and  in 
spite  of  what  he  had  just  said,  hesitated. 

"I  don't  think  he  would  wish  to  go.  He  feels 
as  I  do." 

"Shall  we  let  him  decide?"  she  asked  quickly. 
Then  to  the  boy,  "Victor,  dear,  do  you  want  to  go  to 
the  Lighthouse  and  see  the  other  little  boys  who 
have  ten  finger-eyes  like  you  are  going  to  have?" 

"Yes!"  he  exclaimed  eagerly.  "And  Daddy-boy- 
chum,  you  must  come  too.  Won't  you?" 

"I  certainly  will,  Little-man,"  he  readily  agreed, 
made  happy  by  this,  his  son's  first  show  of  enthusi- 
asm since  his  illness. 

"Then  march  me  downstairs  like  you  used  to," 
Victor  demanded,  holding  tightly  and  straddling  his 
father's  neck.  "Come  on,  Light-lady;  we'se  sol- 
diers!" And  as  they  disappeared  Mammy  heard 
his  gay  little  voice  saying,  "It  takes  a  pretty  brave 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE        23 

soldier    to    march    through    the  night,    doesn't    it, 
Daddy?" 

"De  Lawd  be  praised!"  she  exclaimed  fervently, 
watching  them  while  the  tears  ran  down  her  cheeks. 
"Dat  lady  is  Gawd's  own  Light,  herse'f;  a  reg'lar 
fust  cousin  to  de  angels!  An'  I  does  believe  He  sent 
her,  sho'  'nough,  jes  like  she  say  He  had,  to  give  us 
back  our  real  Sunshiny-boy,"  and  she  went  to  the 
window  to  see  them  depart. 


ERE  we  are  at  the  Light- 
house,"  Miss  Hope  said,  as 
her  car  drew  up  before  the 
door  of  a  tall  building,  the 
simple  dignity  of  which  gave 
beauty  to  an  otherwise  dingy 
block.  "And  it's  a  safe  harbor 

for   'Sunshiny-boys,'  '     pat- 

ting the  curly  head  by  her 
side. 

Victor  involuntarily  leaned 
forward  with  eagerness  and 
looked  out,  then  throwing 
himself  back  against  his 
father  began  to  cry  in  his  dis- 
appointment. 

"Oh,  I  can't  see!  It's  night 
here,  too!  Oh,  oh!"  and  he 
burst  into  a  paroxysm  of 
weeping. 

His  father  gathered  him 
into  his  arms  and  frowned 


26       THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

deeply.  "Then  we'll  go  home,  Little-man;  don't 
cry!"  and  turning  to  their  companion  continued: 
"It's  as  I  feared.  He's  too  nervous.  I  must  take 
him  back — " 

"You  must  do  nothing  of  the  kind!"  Miss  Hope 
broke  in  indignantly.  "That's  the  trouble  now,"  and 
laying  her  hand  on  the  boy's  struggling  shoulder  she 
said  almost  sternly,  "Victor,  hush  crying,  dear." 

He  ceased  a  moment  for  breath  and  she  went  on, 
"I'm  going  to  teach  you  to  see  it  and  all  else,  in 
time,  but  you  must  not  cry,"  and  she  stepped  from 
the  car,  taking  him  firmly  in  her  arms,  and  set  him 
down  as  his  father  followed. 

The  boy  was  surprised,  and  stood,  his  face  staring 
up  at  her,  without  answering.  For  over  two  months 
he  had  been  allowed  to  do  exactly  as  he  pleased,  and 
at  this  unusual  word  of  command,  given  kindly,  but 
with  so  much  firmness,  he  felt  awed  and  silenced. 
He  was,  as  Miss  Hope  said,  a  pitiful  little  derelict 
drifting  upon  an  ocean  of  fear,  buffeted  about  by 
doubt,  because  there  had  been  no  understanding 
hand  to  guide  him.  Small  wonder,  then,  that  he 
shrank  from  every  new  experience  and  cried  so  con- 
stantly. And  as  she,  the  Lighthouse  Keeper,  again 
looked  down  at  the  pathetic  little  figure,  her  heart 
beat  with  gladness  at  the  thought  that  by  putting  her 
hand  to  the  helm  and  freighting  this  precious  craft 
with  knowledge,  she  could  steer  it  away  from  the 
threatening  rocks  of  idle  discontent,  and  on  into  the 
open  sea  of  usefulness. 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE        27 

"Come  now,  dear,  we'll  go  in,"  she  said,  taking 
his  hand  and  smiling  an  invitation  to  the  other,  and 
she  led  them  up  the  broad  stone  steps  and  into  the 
vestibule. 

As  Mr.  Vaughn  sprang  forward  to  open  the  heavy 
door,  a  perfect  bedlam  of  happy  noises  reached  them 
and  he  looked  at  her  in  inquiry. 

"The  Christmas  frolic  has  begun,"  she  announced 
with  a  laugh,  drawing  Victor  into  the  hall.  "You'd 
better  carry  him,  Mr.  Vaughn.  I'll  lead  the  way," 
and  she  hurried  on  in  front  of  them. 

They  entered  a  big  room  filled  with  sunshine  and 
many  sweet  flowering  plants,  and  Mr.  Vaughn 
looked  with  surprise  at  the  pretty  scene  before  him. 
Gaily  colored  song-birds,  hanging  about  in  their 
cages,  were  flooding  the  air  with  their  Christmas 
carols,  and  the  laughing  voices  of  men  and  boys 
seemed  to  vie  with  them  in  joyousness.  But  at  the 
approach  of  the  newcomers  a  sudden  silence  fell 
upon  them  all,  and  they  turned  glowing  faces 
towards  the  door. 

Miss  Hope  stepped  forward  quickly,  and  in  the 
deep,  sweet  tones  that  had  been  the  signal  of  "Lights 
ahead"  for  so  many  of  them  she  called: 

"Lights  of  the  Lighthouse,  Merry  Christmas!" 

"It's  the  Lady  of  the  Lighthouse!"  a  boy's  shrill 
voice  cried,  almost  before  she  had  ceased  speaking, 
and  the  whole  assemblage  broke  into  a  chorus  of 
"Merry  Christmas!  Merry  Christmas!"  and  crowd- 


28       THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

ing  forward  they  each  greeted  joyfully  the  one 
whom  they  all  loved  so  dearly. 

Mr.  Vaughn  looking  on  with  continued  surprise 
at  the  happy  throng  noticed  that  the  young  boy  who 
had  sounded  the  first  note  of  greeting  did  not  now 
join  in  with  the  others.  He  saw  that  he  was  talking 
to  a  number  of  boys  about  his  own  age,  dressed  like 
him  in  the  uniforms  of  Boy  Scouts,  and  that  they 
were  all  laughing  together.  Then  in  a  moment  more 
he  saw  them  march  to  the  middle  of  the  room,  and 
with  faces  mischievous  and  merry,  promptly  stand  on 
their  heads  in  a  row,  wave  their  heels  in  the  air  and 
shout  in  chorus,  "Merry  Christmas!" 

"Well,  that  is  a  new  way  to  present  arms,"  he 
laughed,  speaking  to  Miss  Hope,  who,  laughing  her- 
self at  the  funny  sight,  had  quickly  explained  it  to 
the  others,  making  them  all  laugh  merrily. 

"Yes,"  she  answered,  "that's  in  my  especial  honor, 
too,  I  suppose.  My  blind  Scouts  have  many  and 
varied  ways  of  showing  their  enthusiasm.  But  isn't 
it  wonderful,  Mr.  Vaughn,  to  see  so  much  joy  of  life 
among  them?"  she  continued  seriously.  "And  just 
to  think  they  were  most  of  them,  young  and  old 
alike,  as  unhappy  as  Victor  is  now,  before  the  rays 
of  the  Lighthouse  reached  them." 

Mr.  Vaughn  looked  down  at  the  anxious,  puz- 
zled face  of  his  son,  so  lonely  in  its  utter  darkness, 
then  back  at  the  whooping,  happy  crowd  of  other 
boys,  and  quick  tears  sprang  to  his  eyes. 

"Yes,  it  is,"  he  answered  hoarsely,  "and  I  give  my 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE        29 

boy  into  your  keeping,  Lady  of  the  Lighthouse." 
And  placing  the  child's  hand  in  hers  he  wheeled  and 
left  the  room.  The  sight  of  this  lovely  woman  giv- 
ing all  that  was  sweetest  and  best  in  her  generous  na- 
ture to  those  less  fortunate  than  she,  their  absolute 
devotion  to  her,  and  lastly  the  wonderful  content  and 
happiness  that  she  had  been  able  to  give  them  in 
return,  touched  his  heart  as  nothing  in  the  world  had 
ever  done  before,  and  he  felt  he  would  be  unable  to 
control  his  tears  unless  he  could  be  alone. 

"And  now,  Victor,  dear,"  Miss  Hope  was  saying, 
"hold  up  your  head,  so"  and  she  raised  his  drooping 
chin  with  her  hand.  "We  are  God's  up-standing 
creatures  and  must  face  all  things,  head  up,  bravely. 
Then  as  he  obeyed  her,  and  his  sightless  eyes  looked 
steadily  in  front  of  him,  she  continued,  "My  Scouts 
and  I  will  show  you  the  Christmas-tree." 

She  led  him  to  it  and  taking  one  of  the  branches 
in  her  hands,  bent  it  down  and  put  his  little  fingers 
about  it. 

"See,"  she  said,  "it's  all  stiff  and  prickly,  short 
needles;  can  you  tell  me  what  kind  of  tree  it  is?" 

Victor's  face  continued  to  look  blankly  up  at  her, 
his  fingers  clutching  eagerly  at  the  branch. 

"I  can,"  the  Chief  Scout  Director  of  Chivalry  vol- 
unteered in  the  same  shrill  voice  that  had  announced 
their  arrival  a  little  while  before.  "It's  a  spruce. 
And  much  prettier  than  the  one  we  had  last  year, 
isn't  it?"  facing  about  and  addressing  the  crowd  that 
had  eagerly  gathered  around  them. 


30       THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

"Yes,  yes,"  they  agreed  in  chorus,  as  their  sensitive 
fingers  flew  nimbly  over  its  limbs  and  they  sniffed  its 
pungent  odor  with  pleasure. 

"But  donTt  you  think  it's  time  we  saw  what  Santa 
Claus  brought  us?"  the  Lady  of  the  Lighthouse 
asked  gaily,  stepping  around  to  the  other  side  of  the 
tree  where  stood  a  table  piled  high  with  bundles. 

A  laughing  shout  of  assent  greeted  this  suggestion, 
and  hundreds  of  fingers  at  once  began  feeling  of 
them,  each  person  choosing  for  his  that  bundle 
which  appealed  to  his  imagination.  There  were  big 
and  little  ones,  long  and  short  ones,  smooth  and 
humpy  ones,  ones  of  every  size  and  shape,  and  the 
opening  of  these,  each  in  turn,  invariably  caused 
much  joking  and  laughter;  for  always  the  finger- 
eyes  had  been  tricked,  and  the  contents  were  very 
different  from  what  was  indicated  by  the  exterior. 

It  was  great  fun,  and  when  it  was  all  over  and 
everyone  had  received  in  some  mysterious  way  the 
very  things  that  he  wanted  or  needed  most,  the  Lady 
of  the  Lighthouse  raised  her  lovely  voice  in  a  hymn 
of  thanksgiving,  and  the  Lights  of  the  Lighthouse 
one  and  all  joined  in  until  they  made  the  roof-beams 
ring! 

"And  now,"  she  said,  when  they  had  finished  and 
were  about  to  go  to  their  respective  homes,  "remem- 
ber this;  that  what  the  Lighthouse  has  done  for  you, 
you  can  do  for  others.  Remember  that  you  are  my 
Crew  and  my  Torch-bearers  as  well,  and  must  help 
all  those  that  are  wrecked  or  drifting,  and  teach 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE       31 

them,  as  you  have  been  taught,  to  find  'Light  through 
Work.'  That  is  our  motto,  you  know,  and  we  must 
live  up  to  it." 

During  all  this  time  Victor  had  received  the  undi- 
vided attention  of  the  kindly  little  Director  of  Chiv- 
alry, who  leading  him  about  had  shown  him  every- 
thing, explaining  and  encouraging  the  while;  and 
now  as  the  crowd  scattered,  and  Miss  Hope  once 
more  took  possession  of  his  hand,  he  smiled  at  her, 
head  held  proudly  and  his  face  transformed  by 
what  he  felt  intuitively  to  be  the  promise  of  happi- 
ness to  come. 

"Oh,  Light-lady,"  he  exclaimed,  "this  is  the  very 
bestest  Christmas  I've  had  to-day!  Where's  my 
Daddy-boy-chum?  I  want  to  tell  him — and  Mammy 
— all  about  it!" 

"Here  I  am,  Little-man,"  Mr.  Vaughn  said,  hav- 
ing stolen  in  again  during  the  singing.  And  gath- 
ering his  son  up  upon  his  shoulder  he  held  his  hand 
out  to  the  Lady  of  the  Lighthouse. 

"God  bless  you!"  he  said  fervently. 


HE  Lady  of  the  Lighthouse 
hurried  across  the  street  and 
ran  up  the  steps  of  the  Vaughn  house, 
just  as  she  had  done  on  that  first  day 
many  months  before.    But  to-day  she 
did  not  hesitate,  and  as  James  Henry, 
still  respectfully  impassive,  answered 
her   imperative    ring,   she   passed 
him  with  a  nod  of  greeting  and 
mounted  the  stairs  unannounced. 

A  child's  laughing  voice,  the 
shrill  barking  of  a  small  dog,  ac- 
companied by  a  man's  deeper  tones 
and  also  an  occasional  feminine 
squeal,  reached  her  as  she  neared 
the  door,  and  pausing  an  instant 
before  entering  she  stood  enjoying 
the  happy  sight.  Victor,  his  curls 
flying,  his  face  alight  with  fun, 
and  a  fluffy  dog  running  at  his 
heels,  was  dancing  about  merrily 


34        THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

after  Mr.  Vaughn  and  Mammy,  both  of  whom  were 
blindfolded  and  jumping  awkwardly  around  the 
room  in  an  animated  game  of  Blind-man's  Buff. 

The  child's  quick  ear  caught  the  rustle  of  Miss 
Hope's  skirts,  however,  and  at  once  abandoning  the 
others  he  ran  straight  to  her  and  threw  his  arms 
around  her  knees. 

"Oh,  Light-lady,"  he  cried  affectionately,  "it's 
been  so  long  waiting  for  you!  You're  ten  minutes 
late!"  proudly  fingering  his  watch  with  its  raised 
numerals.  "Hurry  now  and  get  blind-folded  so  you 
can  play  with  us!" 

Miss  Hope  laughed  and  put  her  hand  upon  his 
curls.  "No,  Shiny-boy,"  she  said,  "I  haven't  time  to 
play  this  afternoon — unless  of  course  you  want  to 
go  without  your  lesson." 

"Oh,  no,  no,  I  couldn't  do  that!"  and  taking  her 
hand  he  tugged  her  to  a  chair  and  quickly  scrambled 
up  beside  her.  Mr.  Vaughn  and  the  negress  had 
unbandaged  their  eyes,  and  after  smiling  their  greet- 
ings stood  watching  as  the  boy  turned  his  flower-like 
face  up  to  her  sunny  one  in  an  eager  appeal  for  her 
teaching. 

Mammy's  prophecy  had  come  true.  Victor  hav- 
ing joined  the  Lighthouse  Crew  on  that  glad  Christ- 
mas Day,  was  now  the  cheerful,  happy  Sunshiny-boy 
of  before  his  illness.  With  a  mind  unusually  bright 
and  fingers  full  of  eagerness  he  had  quickly  grasped 
the  meaning  of  that  first  lesson,  and  since  then  had 
been  steadily  advancing  at  every  opportunity,  until 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE        35 

now,  at  Miss  Hope's  urgent  advice,  he  was  attending 
the  public  school  kindergarten  with  sighted  chil- 
dren. 

The  Lady  of  the  Lighthouse,  herself  a  sculptor, 
had  early  discovered  in  him  the  same  divine  spark, 
which  discovery  had  given  her  great  joy;  and  so 
every  afternoon  she  came,  as  now,  to  teach  him  some- 
thing new,  for  he  was  an  ever-increasing  source  of 
delight  to  her.  And  each  time  that  she  came  he 
snuggled  more  closely  into  her  arms,  which  seemed 
to  him  made  for  the  purpose,  and  poured  out  on  her 
the  son-love  that  had  been  given  him  to  bestow  upon 
his  mother. 

"Light-lady,"  he  said  whimsically  as  he  worked 
the  bit  of  clay  held  in  his  hands,  and  at  the  same  time 
continually  leaned  forward  to  feel  his  dog's  head, 
"the  world's  all  full  of  you.  Did  you  know  it?" 

She  laughed.  "Why,  what  do  you  mean,  Shiny- 
boy?"  looking  down  at  him.  He  seemed  such  a 
baby,  and  yet  at  times  he  was  so  strangely  quaint  and 
serious.  "How  is  the  world  all  full  of  me?" 

"Oh,  it  just  is,"  he  stated,  rather  puzzled  himself 
to  know  how  he  was  going  to  explain  such  a  remark, 
yet  vaguely  trying  to  put  into  words  the  thought 
that  she  had  made  for  him  the  lovely  world  of  sound 
and  touch  in  which  he  now  lived.  "I  don't  'zactly 
know  how  to  say  it,"  he  continued;  "but  everything 
nice  feels  like  you.  Don't  you  understand?" 

"Why  you  little  love-maker!"  she  exclaimed,  sud- 
denly gathering  him  to  her  in  a  laughing  hug. 


36        THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

"Don't  squash  my  feel-picture!"  he  warned,  hold- 
ing the  bit  of  clay  at  arm's  length,  then  as  she  re- 
leased him  running  his  hands  over  it  quickly. 

"Oh,  I  have  mashed  it!"  she  said  with  sorrow. 

"Yes,"  he  admitted,  feeling  it  again.  "A  little." 
Then  laughing,  "It's  not  like  Twinkle-doggy  now, 
it's  like  Mammy!"  and  he  grinned  mischievously 
toward  where  he  knew  the  woman  was  standing. 
"See,  Mammy,  see,"  he  teased,  "the  nose  is  all  flat 
like  yours." 

"Law,  Shiny,  ain't  you  'shamed  yo'se'f!"  she 
chuckled,  looking  at  the  crudely  modeled  dog's 
head. 

Mr.  Vaughn  joined  his  laughter  to  hers,  and  she 
added,  addressing  Miss  Hope,  "Hit's  wonderful, 
Miss  Fust-cousin-to-de-angels,  how  you'se  learned 
dat  boy  to  see!  Why,  he  see  right  now  better  dan  if 
he  could  see,  I  declar'  he  do!" 

"It  is  wonderful,"  Mr.  Vaughn  agreed  with  seri- 
ousness, looking  earnestly  at  the  little  fellow  and  pat- 
ting him  upon  the  head.  "I  don't  know  what  we 
should  have  done  if  the  Lady  of  the  Lighthouse 
hadn't  discovered  we  were  in  trouble  and  put  out  to 
help  us;  I  really  don't!"  and  his  eyes  were  full  of 
gratitude  and  emotion  as  he  spoke.  "Eh,  Little- 
man?" 

"Humph,  'troubles  breeds  troubles,' '  Mammy 
philosophized  to  herself,  looking  from  one  to  the 
other  of  the  pair  and  smiling  in  kindly  shrewdness; 
"an'  dar's  mo'  dan  one  kind  of  blindness  in  dis  per- 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE        37 

ishin'  worl',  Fse  noticed,"  and  she  began  bustling 
about  the  room  happily. 

From  the  minute  she  had  seen  Miss  Hope  she  had 
loved  her,  and  in  her  bosom  there  had  been  planted 
the  flower  of  romance.  And  now,  nourished  as  it 
was  by  every  look  and  gesture  of  the  unconscious 
couple  before  her,  it  seemed  to  her  loyal  old  heart 
about  to  burst  into  bloom. 

"Yes,  Shiny-boy's  a  wonderful  pupil,"  Miss  Hope 
agreed,  "and  I  predict  a  great  future  for  him. 
Though  remember,"  she  went  on,  "I  don't  believe 
the  doctors  as  you  do.  I  believe  from  my  own  per- 
sonal experience  that  his  sight  can  be  restored.  That 
is,  if  we  can  get  my  doctor  to  come  over  and  take 
charge  of  the  case."  Then  speaking  to  the  child, 
"Our  time's  up,  cheri!  I  must  go.  Are  you  going 
to  be  my  little  Torch-bearer  this  afternoon?"  and  she 
began  pulling  on  her  gloves. 

"Oh,  yes,  yes,"  he  cried.    "Can't  I,  Daddy-boy?" 

"I  don't  quite  understand,  Little-man,"  Mr. 
Vaughn  answered.  "What  is  it  you  want  him  to 
do,  Miss  Hope?" 

"I  promised  to  take  him  'torch-lighting'  with 
me,"  she  explained.  "That  is,  go  down  in  the  rough 
part  of  our  city  where  the  rocks  of  disaster  loom 
large,  and  where  there  are  numberless  human  ships 
wrecked  and  drifting,  to  look  for  those  that  the  rays 
of  the  Lighthouse  cannot  reach.  There  are  many 
such,  too  poor  and  wretched  to  be  found  save  by 
searching  diligently.  Whenever  I  have  a  few  hours 


38       THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

from  my  executive  duties,  which  is  seldom,  I  join 
the  ranks  of  my  Crew  and  like  them  try  to  take  down 
a  gleam  of  cheer." 

Mr.  Vaughn  looked  doubtful.  "But  I  don't  think 
you  should  go  to  that  part  of  town  alone." 

"She  won't,  Daddy-boy,"  little  Victor  interrupted. 
"I'll  be  there  to  guard  her.  I'm  her  special  Scout 
now,  you  know.  She  made  the  big  boys  take  me  in 
and " 

"It's  not  safe,"  Mr.  Vaughn  continued,  not  heed- 
ing his  son's  remarks  in  his  anxiety. 

Miss  Hope's  proud  head  went  up,  and  she  made 
as  if  to  answer,  but  Mr.  Vaughn  went  on  hurriedly. 
"Pardon  me,  but  you  are  much  too  young  and  beau- 
tiful—" 

"Nonsense!"  she  broke  in,  resenting  as  always  any 
attempted  check  upon  her  independence. 

"Then  I  shall  go  with  you,"  flushing  and  squaring 
his  chin  at  her  tone. 

"Why,  certainly,  Victor  and  I  shall  be  delighted 
to  have  you,"  she  said,  seeing  his  annoyance  and  at 
once  regretting  that  she  had  scoffed  at  his  concern. 
"Come,  dear,"  to  the  child;  and  smiling  an  adieu  to 
the  old  negress  she  left  the  room  followed  by  the 
other  two. 

"Well,  Mr.  Biggs,"  Mammy  remarked  to  the  but- 
ler, just  then  appearing  from  another  direction,  "you 
looks  like  a  lonesome  night  in  a  grave-yard,  as  usual ; 
but  yer  can't  th'ow  no  wet  mattress  on  my  gladness!" 
and  she  grinned,  pointing  her  finger  at  the  vanishing 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE       39 

trio.  "Fer  Mr.  Vicky,  who  I  helped  born  an'  en- 
tirely raised,  'ceptin'  fer  a  few  interferences  by  his 
ma,  of  course,  is  a  honey-bird  a-flyin'  straight!"  and 
with  this  bit  of  information  she  burst  into  a  happy 
ha-ha. 

But  Mr.  Biggs  maintained  his  silence. 


ISS  HOPE'S  car  threaded 
its  way  down  a  dark,  dirty 
East-side  street,  stopped,  and 
the  three  occupants  got  out. 
The  street  went  on  for  a  few 
yards  further,  then,  seeming  to  become  discouraged  at 
its  own  gloom  and  squalor,  suddenly  plunged  down 
to  the  river  in  an  attempt  to  end  its  life. 

The  Lighthouse  Keeper  sighed  as  she  looked 
about  her,  but  quickly  smiling  again  turned  to  her 
companions  and  said,  "Come,  I'll  show  you  a  verit- 
able rose  blooming  in  the  wilderness,  for  in  here," 
indicating  the  doorway  directly  opposite,  "lives  the 
sweetest  and  most  happy  creature  I  have  ever 
known."  And  taking  Victor's  hand  they  all  three 
disappeared  within. 

The  narrow,  rickety  stairs  up  which  they  climbed 
led  to  a  short,  dark  corridor,  and  feeling  her  way 


42       THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

down  this  quickly,  Miss  Hope  knocked  several  times 
upon  a  door  at  the  end. 

"Oh,  it's  the  Lighthouse  Lady,  Mother,"  they 
heard  a  childish  voice  exclaim,  while  the  peg-peg 
of  crutches  grew  nearer,  and  as  the  door  was  thrown 
open  the  elfish  figure  of  a  girl-woman  appeared  be- 
fore them. 

"Welcome,  Friend,"  she  exclaimed  quaintly,  smil- 
ing toward  Miss  Hope,  who  stepped  forward  and 
laid  her  hand  on  the  little  hollow  shoulder. 

"How  do  you  do,  Meggy?  I've  brought  two 
friends  to  see  you." 

She  smiled  graciously,  and  as  Mr.  Vaughn  looked 
down  at  her  a  lump  rose  in  his  throat.  It  seemed 
to  him  he  had  never  seen  so  pure  a  face,  and  as  his 
companion  introduced  him  and  Victor  her  great 
dark  eyes,  though  blind,  seemed  to  look  into  his  very 
heart  and  he  bowed  his  head  involuntarily  at  the  ex- 
quisite sweetness  and  patience  of  their  expression. 

"How's  your  mother,  Meggy?"  Miss  Hope  asked, 
walking  into  the  room.  "Oh,  there  she  is,"  spying 
a  huddled  creature  on  the  bed,  and  crossing  over 
continued  in  the  same  cheery  tone,  though  louder: 
"Good  afternoon,  Mrs.  Miller;  how  are  you?" 

The  woman's  fretful  face  scowled  into  hers.  It 
was  a  face  that  had  never  seen  pleasure,  but  only  the 
drudgery  of  slaving  for  the  bare  necessities  of  life, 
and  grumbling  something  inaudible  she  turned  away 
without  response. 

Meggy,  her  delicate  cheeks  flushing  at  this  dis- 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE        43 

courtesy,  said  quickly:  "She  didn't  hear  you,  I 
guess,  Miss  Hope.  She's  felt  very  badly  of  late. 
But  won't  your  friends  look  at  my  bags?  They  are 
jo  pretty,"  and  she  led  them  across  the  room  to  where 
a  small  loom  for  bead  and  silk  weaving  stood  thread- 
ed. "I've  gotten  orders  enough  to  keep  me  busy  for 
a  month,  and  here  are  some  already  finished,"  hand- 
ing Miss  Hope  several  woven  of  various  colored 
silks  with  silver,  gold  and  crystal  beads  running 
throughout.  Then  turning  to  the  two  strangers: 
"Do  you  want  to  see  me  weave?  Miss  Hope  makes 
me  show  everyone,  it's  such  beautiful  work  for  a 
little  'ten  eyes'  like  me."  She  seated  herself  before 
the  loom  and,  beginning  to  work  the  shuttle  back 
and  forth,  smiled  up  at  them.  "See,"  she  said,  run- 
ning her  fingers  over  the  colored  strands,  "it's  quite 
simple  and  so  nice  to  feel  that  I'm  weaving  rainbows 
and  sunsets  and  dewdrops  for  someone  who  will  love 
them  as  I  do,  and  who  will  see  them  with  their  really 
truly  eyes!  Sometimes  I  think  I  must  be  about  the 
luckiest  girl  in  the  world!"  and  she  ceased  weaving 
in  her  earnestness,  "for  so  many  people  have  to  work 
on  ugly  things,  you  know,  and  I  never  do.  But  it 
wasn't  always  so,"  groping  out  to  take  Miss  Hope's 
hand  between  her  two  frail  ones,  "before  the  Lady 
of  the  Lighthouse  found  me." 

Mr.  Vaughn  looked  from  one  to  the  other  of  these 
two,  so  widely  different,  yet  each  fulfilling  so  per- 
fectly her  duty  in  life,  and  he  determined  at  the  first 


44        THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

opportunity  to  help  the  brave  little  cripple  before 
him. 

In  a  few  moments  more  Miss  Hope  said  they  must 
go,  and  with  many  affectionate  words  of  cheerful 
adieu  led  her  visitors  to  the  door.  "Don't  forget  the 
party  to-morrow,  Meggy  dear,"  she  called  at  part- 
ing, as  they  left  the  tiny  room  which  held,  in  spite 
of  all  its  darkness,  a  beam  of  God's  real  sunshine. 

"Isn't  Meggy  wonderful?"  she  asked  softly  as 
they  reached  the  hallway.  "We  of  the  Lighthouse 
call  her  the  'Radiant;'  for  whenever  she  is  able  to 
leave  her  deaf,  half-paralyzed  old  mother  she  comes 
to  the  Lighthouse  and  radiates  happiness  and  good 
cheer  for  us  all  while  helping  the  other  women  with 
their  weaving." 

"Tell  me  about  her,  Light-lady!"' Victor  begged. 
"Is  it  night  for  her,  too,  'cause  the  fever  got  in  her 
eyes?" 

"No,  dearest.  She  is  so  because  her  mother  worked 
in  a  dark  cellar  before  she  was  born,"  Miss  Hope 
answered  sadly.  "Or  at  least  that  is  the  reason  she 
is  crippled.  She  herself  made  it  'night'  by  having 
to  work  there  also,  when  her  eyes  were  almost  as 
sick  as  her  poor  little  back.  But  I  must  go  in  here," 
she  interrupted  herself,  stopping  at  another  door  fur- 
ther down  the  hall.  "Mr.  Vaughn,  you  and  Victor 
go  to  the  car  and  wait  for  me,  please,"  and  she  left 
them  to  go  down  the  stairs  alone. 

A  little  while  later  she  came  down,  and  getting  in 
beside  them  the  motor  chug-chugged  its  way  slowly 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE        45 

from  the  street  in  which  they  were  to  the  next  around 
the  corner. 

Miss  Hope's  expression  was  very  sad  as  she  sat 
silent,  her  thoughts  intent  upon  her  experience  of 
the  last  few  minutes.  Presently,  however,  she  said 
bitterly:  "The  dear  little  blind  fellow,  son  of  a 
blind  mother,  whom  I  have  just  left  won't  live  much 
longer,  but  after  all  that's  the  one  thing  in  his  whole 
life  that  is  a  blessing.  And  there  are  many  like 
him,  victims  of  'the  sins  of  the  fathers  visited  upon 
the  children  unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation,' 
and  because  of  that  he,  an  innocent  little  child,  is 
suffering  untold  agony  and  sorrow  now.  And  our 
government  allows  such  a  marriage!  But  here  we 
are  at  our  next  stop!"  she  exclaimed  with  relief. 
"This  is  an  S.  O.  S.  call  that  reached  us  this  morn- 
ing through  one  of  our  life-saving  crew  who  is  sta- 
tioned near  here.  We've  had  two  such  calls  to-day," 
she  went  on  as  they  began  to  alight.  "One  is  hope- 
less; a  case  of  poisoning.  Both  eyes  gone,  optic 
nerve  atrophied  from  drinking  liquor  adulterated 
with  wood  alcohol.  Another  crime  to  be  put  down 
to  our  government's  carelessness!  But  he,  poor  fel- 
low, is  probably  out  of  his  suffering  ere  now,  and  I 
hope  to  find  this  person  not  so  seriously  ill.  So  all 
hands  to  the  rescue!"  and  entering  the  house  before 
them  they  started  up  the  stairs. 

The  house  was  apparently  an  estranged  twin  to  the 
one  they  had  just  left,  save  it  was  more  gloomy;  and 
as  they  mounted  higher  and  higher  its  aspect  be- 


46        THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

came  even  more  forlorn,  until  they  reached  the  top 
floor  and  Miss  Hope  knocked  upon  a  door. 

There  was  no  response;  so  after  waiting  a  min- 
ute more  she  knocked  again,  this  time  insistently,  say- 
ing as  the  knocks  reverberated  loudly,  "It's  strange 
no  one  answers.  I'm  sure  this  is  the  place,"  and 
stooping  she  peered  closely  at  the  door's  number, 
only  half  discernible  in  the  dimness.  "Yes,  this  is 
the  address  given  me." 

"Try  the  knob,"  Mr.  Vaughn  suggested.  "The 
room  may  be  vacant,  after  all." 

As  he  spoke,  however,  the  door  was  cautiously 
cracked,  and  the  young  though  haggard  face  of  a 
blind  man  appeared  before  them,  sick  with  fright. 
The  room  in  which  he  stood  was  small,  lighted  only 
by  a  tiny  air-shaft,  but  even  in  this  semi-darkness 
they  could  see  his  pathetic  condition. 

"Good  afternoon.  Is  this  Mr.  Gilroy?"  Miss 
Hope  asked  in  her  cheeriest  tone.  "And  may  we 
come  in?  I'm  the  Lady  of  the  Lighthouse,  and 
these  are  my  two  'Torch-bearers,'  "  stepping  for- 
ward with  her  two  companions. 

The  man's  face  brightened  and  he  stood  aside  to 
let  them  pass,  his  hands  trembling  as  he  caught  at 
the  door  for  support.  "Oh,  yes,  ma'am,"  he  said, 
cordially.  "Sure  and  I'm  glad  to  see  you.  I  thought 
at  first  as  how  you  were  the  rent  collector  come  to 
put  me  out,"  and  he  tried  to  laugh.  "But  it's  you 
I'm  wishing  to  have  come  since  the  laddie  told  me 
about  you  this  morning,  for  I'm  needing  of  the  light 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE       47 

if  there  be  any  left  for  a  fellow  like  me,"  and  he 
reached  out  his  hand  to  her  appealingly. 

"There  certainly  is,  plenty  of  it!"  Miss  Hope  as- 
sured him.  "  'Light  through  work,'  and  you  shall 
learn  everything  you  wish  to.  But  tell  me  about 
yourself.  How  long  have  you  been  blind?" 

The  man  shuddered,  then  answered  slowly  with  a 
choke  in  his  voice:  "I  don't  know.  I've — lost — 
count.  'Twas  from  the  hospital  they  sent  me  home 
like  this,  and  'tis  many  a  day  that  I've  been  praying 
the  good  Mother  to  let  me  die!" 

"But  how  did  it  happen?"  Miss  Hope  asked  sym- 
pathetically, her  own  voice  near  the  breaking  point 
"Tell  me  about  it.  It  was  an  accident,  wasn't  it?" 
noticing  the  sunken  eye-sockets  and  the  tiny  scars 
upon  his  forehead. 

"Yes,  ma'am,"  he  said.  "  'Twas  in  the  Vaughn 
Chemical  Works—" 

"What!"  Mr.  Vaughn  cried  in  horror,  dropping 
Victor's  hand  and  striding  forward. 

"Yes,  sir,  the  Vaughn  Chemical  Works." 

Miss  Hope  motioned  Mr.  Vaughn  not  to  interrupt 
again,  and  the  man  proceeded: 

"  'Twas  one  of  the  small  tanks.  It  exploded  like 
and  caught  me  in  the  eyes,"  throwing  both  hands  up 
in  an  expressive  gesture  to  show  them  how  sudden  it 
had  been.  "And  when  I  come  to  I'd  been  fetched 
to  the  hospital  and  the  nurse  told  me  how  it  was  with 
me,  me  being  bandaged  and " 


48       THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

"But  weren't  you  wearing  any  kind  of  protective 
eye-shield?"  the  lady  interrupted. 

"No,  ma'am,  the  furnishing  of  such  wasn't  there," 
he  answered. 

"What  an  outrage!"  she  exclaimed  hotly,  turning 
on  Mr.  Vaughn,  her  eyes  blazing  with  indignation. 

He  flushed,  but  said  nothing.  The  horror  of  the 
thing  seemed  to  have  gripped  him  and  he  found  he 
could  not  speak.  Never  before  had  he  realized  the 
need  of  safety  devices  for  his  workmen,  danger  of 
injury  seemed  so  remote,  but  now  as  he  stared  at  the 
pitiful  wreck  before  him  his  conscience  smote  him 
bitterly  and  he  groaned  aloud.  If  only  he  had  taken 
warning  from  the  occasional  press  accounts  of  such 
accidents.  True,  he  argued,  his  laboratory  was  too 
large  for  him  to  give  its  every  detail  his  personal 
attention.  Yet  if  he  didn't,  who  would?  he  asked 
himself. 

"Why  didn't  you  send  for  me,  man,  when  it  hap- 
pened?" he  said  aloud  in  a  hoarse  voice. 

The  man  looked  puzzled,  and  seeing  of  course  he 
did  not  understand  the  situation,  Miss  Hope  added, 
"This  is  Mr.  Vaughn  himself  talking  to  you,  Mr. 
Gilroy." 

"Oh,  I — I  didn't  know,"  he  muttered,  involuntar- 
ily backing  away. 

"But  why  didn't  you  send  for  me  when  you  were 
hurt?"  Mr.  Vaughn  again  asked.  "You  should  have 
done  so." 

"I — didn't  dare,  sir,"    the    man    said,  his  hands 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE       49 

clinching  and  unclinching  in  his  nervous  anxiety. 
"Sure  and  the  boss  told  me,  when  he  come  to  the 
hospital,  that  I'd  get  never  a  penny  of  damages  if  I 
did.  He  said  the  company  would  pay  me  if  I  didn't 
be  worrying  nobody,  but  that— 

"Who  told  you  such  a  thing?"  Mr.  Vaughn  broke 
in,  "What  was  his  name?" 

"Mr.  Smith,"  he  answered.  "And  he  said  as  how 
he  was  your  right  hand  man  and  was  acting  for  you 
in  the  matter,  and 

"Yes,  yes,  he  is,"  Mr.  Vaughn  agreed,  quick  to 
correct  any  possible  criticism  of  the  young  manager 
who  he  knew  had  been  trying  to  shield  his  business 
interests.  "But  this  is 

"Capital  against  labor  as  usual,  he  probably 
thinks,"  Miss  Hope  interrupted  in  a  bitter  tone;  then 
realizing  she  should  not  have  suggested  such  a 
thought  to  the  man,  she  shut  her  lips  tightly  together. 

Mr.  Vaughn  frowned.  "This  is  a  very  different 
case  from  the  general  run,"  he  finished.  "Have 
you  done  anything  about  it?  Seen  your  lawyer,  or 
anything?" 

"Sure,  sir,  and  I  have  not,"  he  replied.  "A  friend 
of  mine — the  only  one  I've  got,"  he  added  sadly, 
"said  as  how  it  wouldn't  do  no  good.  She's  an  old 
crippled  lady  next  door,"  he  explained.  "She  was 
after  saying  they'd  just  take  my  money,  like  they 
done  hers,  and  that  the  courts  was  so  slow  I'd  be 
starved  before  my  case  come  up  anyhow,  and— 

"She's  right  there!"     Miss  Hope  again  broke  in, 


50        THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

unable  to  control  her  indignation;  then  biting  her 
lip  ceased  while  Mr.  Vaughn  proceeded: 

"I'm  only  asking  because  I  want  to  know  exactly 
where  we  stand,"  speaking  to  the  man,  but  looking 
towards  Miss  Hope  haughtily.  "There's  no  neces- 
sity for  the  law.  I  shall  gladly  pay  you  anything — 
that  the  lady  here  thinks  is  just,"  he  finished  hur- 
riedly. 

"Oh,  sir,  and  sure  it's  kind  you  are!"  the  man  ex- 
claimed, his  pale  face  flushing.  "I  was  just  think- 
ing before  the  laddie  come  this  morning  that — that 
— I'd  have  to  end  it  all;  but  now— 

"Now,"  Miss  Hope  exclaimed  cheerfully,  "we  of 
the  Lighthouse  will  show  you  how  much  light  there 
is  left  for  a  fellow  like  you.  We  are  going  there 
now,  and  I  shall  send  a  nurse  to  you  at  once.  Also 
Dr.  Chear,  the  captain  of  our  Lighthouse  crew. 
They  will  make  you  comfortable  here  for  to-day," 
glancing  about  the  disheveled  room,  "and  to-morrow 
we'll  get  you  a  nicer  room  near  the  Lighthouse,  if 
Mr.  Vaughn  agrees,"  looking  questioningly  towards 
him. 

He  nodded  and  she  went  on:  "And  then  you  can 
come  to  us  every  day  and  begin  learning  to  see  with 
your  fingers.  Little  Victor  can  tell  you  about  that," 
petting  the  boy  who  had  all  this  time  been  clinging 
to  her  skirts.  "Can't  you,  dear?" 

"Oh,  yes,  Mr.  Night-man,"  he  said  eagerly.  "You 
can  have  ten  eyes  just  like  me  instead  of  two.  Didn't 
you  know  it?  And  I'll  let  you  help  me  be  a  Torch- 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE        51 

bearer.  I'm  a  Scout,  you  know,  the  littlest  one  there 
is;  and  you  can't  be  a  Scout,"  he  sympathized, 
"  'cause  your  talk-noise  is  too  grown  up!" 

At  the  whimsical  quaintness  of  these  words  a  smile 
broke  across  the  young  man's  face,  transforming  it 
into  something  wonderfully  brave  and  beautiful,  or 
so  it  seemed  to  Miss  Hope,  and  she  felt  confident 
that  the  first  ray  from  her  Lighthouse  beacon  had 
reached  and  begun  to  rescue  another  darkened  soul. 

"So,"  she  said,  drawing  nearer  the  door,  "good- 
bye until  to-morrow.  We  are  having  a  party  for  the 
women  and  girls  then,  and  if  you'll  come  to  the 
Lighthouse  I'll  show  you  some  of  our  brightest 
'Lights.'  And  in  the  meantime  don't  forget  this.  It 
was  said  by  one  of  the  bravest  blind  men  we  know 
about,  Postmaster-General  Fawcett  of  England;  and 
to-day  we  can  find  no  better  advice  to  give: 

"  'Do  what  you  can  to  act  as  though  you  were  not 
blind.  Be  of  good  courage  and  help  yourself — 
and  we'll  do  the  rest,"  and  smiling  she  and  her  com- 
panions opened  the  door  and  passed  out. 


"What  would  be  fair?"  Mr.  Vaughn  asked  as  they 
drove  away.  "God  knows  I  want  to  make  it  up  to 
the  poor  fellow  the  best  I  can.  It's  horrible!  I  can 
never  forgive  myself!" 

Miss  Hope  looked  into  his  troubled  eyes,  then 
spoke  with  gentle  sympathy. 

"I'm  more   sorry  for   you    than    I    can   say,    Mr. 


52        THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

Vaughn.  Forgive  me  for  my  bitterness  just  now. 
I  understand  how  you  must  feel " 

"Oh,  and  I  understand  your  feelings  too,"  he  hast- 
ened to  say.  "I  don't  blame  you  for  being  bitter. 
My  surprise  is  you  aren't  more  so,  seeing,  as  you  con- 
stantly must,  suffering  which  might  so  easily  have 
been  avoided!" 

"Yes,  that's  just  it,"  she  said.  "It  seems  so  cruel, 
so  selfish,  and  there's  so  much  of  it!  We  are  all  of 
us  too  careless  about  the  most  precious  things  in  life, 
any  way;  even  life  itself,  when  another's — and  for 
what?"  she  continued.  "A  little  more  money,  or 
pleasure,  or  comfort  for  a  few  years;  that's  all." 
"Why,  do  you  know,  Mr.  Vaughn,"  she  continued 
"that  we  are  still  far  behind  England  in  the  preven- 
tion of  blindness?  However,  that  deficiency  is  fast 
being  overcome,  and  I  believe  Helen  Keller's  proph- 
ecy will  yet  come  true ;  bless  her!  She  says  that  in  the 
near  future  our  blind  institutions,  to  which  we  now 
point  with  pride,  will  stand  as  monuments  to  our 
ignorance  and  to  the  useless  suffering  which  we  have 
caused." 

"But  what  must  I  do  for  this  poor  fellow?"  he 
asked.  "Of  course  he  can't  work  now,  and— 

"Indeed  he  can  work!"  she  broke  in  vigorously. 
"That's  the  only  thing  left  for  him  to  do.  Work 
means  everything  to  the  blind!  Pleasant  work  in 
cheerful  surroundings  that  will  enable  him  to  be 
self-supporting,  thus  standing  on  an  equal  footing 
with  the  sighted.  To  work  side  by  side  with  them 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE        53 

will  mean  more  to  him  than  all  else,  I  feel  sure.  It 
has  in  every  case  like  his  I've  ever  seen." 

"Then  you  don't  think  I  should  give  him  money?" 
Mr.  Vaughn  asked  in  surprise. 

"Oh,  yes,  certainly  I  do,"  she  answered.  "But 
don't  give  it  as  charity  at  any  time.  Pay  him  an  in- 
come, say,  as  'damages,'  and  then  after  we  at  the 
Lighthouse  have  taught  him  to  see  with  his  fingers, 
give  him  a  job." 

"But  I  can't  use  a  blind  workman,"  he  argued. 

"Why  not?"  she  asked  quickly.  "There  are  few 
positions  of  trust,  even  of  the  highest  order,  that  have 
not  been  filled  by  the  blind.  We  have  in  this 
country  a  blind  senator,  a  blind  judge,  inventors, 
and  not  a  few  efficient  instructors  of  the  seeing.  You 
have  a  telephone  service,  haven't  you?  He  can  ope- 
rate that.'  We  have  our  graduates  filling  such  posi- 
tions quite  as  well  as  if  they  could  see.  Or  better 
still,  give  him  a  place  in  your  stenographic  depart- 
ment. He  seems  a  bright  enough  fellow  to  become 
a  good  stenographer  with  the  proper  opportunity. 
The  present-day  shorthand  machines,  that  are  used 
to  take  dictation  in  raised  type,  make  it  quite  easy 
and  most  pleasant  work.  Our  Lighthouse  office 
force  is  almost  entirely  blind,  you  know.  He  might 
become  a  wireless  telegraph  operator,  anything  in 
fact  along  those  lines.  We  are  turning  out  competent 
men  and  women  every  day.  Or,  if  all  these  things 
are  beyond  him,  let  him  make  the  brooms,  mops, 
brushes  that  you  use  in  the  laboratory;  and  re- 


54        THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

bottom  the  chairs.  These  things  you  should  buy 
from  us  anyway.  We  make  yearly  contracts,  and 
your  order  will  mean  a  great  deal  to  several  of  my 
workers.  But  goodness!"  she  laughed,  her  face 
sparkling  in  her  enthusiasm,  "I  could  go  on  all  day 
telling  you  how  this  poor  fellow  that  we've  just  res- 
cued can  be  useful  to  you.  Ten  eyes  and  a  brave 
heart,  such  as  my  other  'Night-children'  have,  will 
soon  be  his,  too,  I  feel  sure,  and  then  you'll  find  him 
not  only  useful,  but  a  treasure  indeed!  You  just 
see  if  I'm  not  right!"  And  she  laughed  up  into  his 
serious  face  confidently. 

"You're  always  right — Lady  of  the   Lighthouse!" 
he  said,  looking  at  her  with  frank  admiration. 


AMMY,  you're  a  regular 
cow-tail!"  Victor  exclaimed 
crossly  as  he  heard  the 
woman  enter  the  room. 
'Hurry  up  or  we'll  be  late 
for  the  party." 

"Law,  honey,  we'se  got 
oodles  of  time.  An'  'sides 
dat,  we  can't  go  yit,  dar's  somebody  down- 
stairs wants  to  see  yer,"  she  answered,  going 
over  to  him  and  laying  her  hand  on  his  curly 
head. 

"Who?"  he  asked  indifferently,  still  tug- 
ging at  the  stocking  he  was  putting  on. 

"A  new  doctor,  darlin',  and " 

"Then  he  shan't  come  in!"  the  boy  ex- 
ploded angrily,  jumping  up  like  a  flash 
and  slamming  the  door.    "Doctors  is  no- 
count-tommy-rots  and  I  won't  have  'em!" 
"Shiny!"  she  ejaculated,  shocked.  "Whar 


56       THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

you  git  dat  strong  word?  You  know  dat  ain't  no  lady- 
like way  fer  a  young  gem'man  to  talk." 

"Well,  it's  a  Scout  way,"  he  answered,  "  'cause  I 
heard  the  Chivalry  Scout  say  it  yesterday;  and  I 
won't  see  him,  I  won't!" 

"Now  I  doan  see  why  you'se  taken  up  wid  dat 
notion  so  strong,"  Mammy  argued  gently,  while 
Victor  continued  to  push  his  back  against  the  door 
with  all  his  might.  "Doctors  is  puffec'ly  harmless 
as  I  kin  see,  but  you'se  jes  like  one  of  my  fust  hus- 
ban's,  I  reckon.  He  wouldn't  have  none  of  dem 
eider,  an'  he  finally  jes  died  a  natural  death  in  de 
middle  of  de  night  one  night.  But  dar!  he  an'  yo' 
pa's  a-comin'!"  she  warned,  hearing  footsteps  mount- 
ing the  stairs.  "You  better  take  yo'  back  away  an* 
speak  to  dem  pretty  when  dey  comes  in." 

"I  won't!"  Victor  again  muttered,  pushing  against 
the  door  harder  than  ever. 

Mammy  looked  at  him  thoughtfully  and  his  big 
sightless  eyes  stared  back  at  her  with  defiance.  How 
could  she  persuade  him  to  mind,  she  wondered.  She 
could  never  bear  to  force  him  in  anything  now,  the 
poor  baby!  And  her  sympathy  at  once  getting  the 
better  of  her  she  put  her  hand  upon  his  curls  again, 
saying  tenderly: 

"Den  yer  doan  hafter,  darlin',  if  you'se  skeeredl 
Jes'  you  hide  'hind  Mammy  an'  she'll  tell  'em  youse 
gone  out  wid  Mr.  Biggs.  Dey  shan't  pester  my 
Shiny-boy  to  death — no  dey  shan't!"  and  she  made 
as  if  to  hide  him  with  her  skirts. 


But  at  these  words  a  change  came  over  the  child, 
and  stepping  away  from  the  door  he  faced  about, 
head  thrown  back  and  eyes  gazing  straight  in  front 
of  him  bravely.  It  was  the  fearless  posture  that 
Miss  Hope  had  taught  him,  and  as  the  door  opened 
he  said  steadily,  "I'm  not  scared!  And  I  won't  tell 
a  hide-lie,  'cause  I'm  a  Scout!" 

Mr.  Vaughn  and  a  strange  gentleman  entered. 
"Hello,  Little-man!"  he  cried  gaily.  "I've  brought 
Dr.  Frantz  to  see  you.  You  won't  mind  seeing  him," 
noticing  the  boy's  flushed  face  and  at  once  under- 
standing the  situation,  "because  he's  the  doctor  that 
made  your  'Light-lady'  see.  He  lives  'way  across 
the  ocean,  and  has  cured  lots  of  little  boys  like  you; 
so  she  sent  for  him.  Come,  speak  up  like  Daddy's 
Little-man!" 

Victor  hesitated  a  moment,  then  recalling  the 
many  things  Miss  Hope  had  told  him  about  this 
famous  doctor,  walked  up  to  him  and  held  out  his 
hand. 

"Why,  how  do  you  do,  nice  little  fellow?"  Dr. 
Frantz  said  with  a  slightly  foreign  accent  "Can 
you  see  me?" 

"Stoop  down,"  Victor  commanded,  his  nervous- 
ness immediately  vanishing  at  the  charm  of  the  doc- 
tor's kindly  voice. 

Dr.  Frantz  stooped  obediently,  and  quickly  feel- 
ing his  bearded  face  the  child  announced:  "Yes;  you 
look  like  a  Teddy-bear!" 

The  doctor  laughed  but  drew  away,  and  flashing 


58       THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

a  small  light  in  the  boy's  eyes  asked,  "Can  you  see 
me  now?" 

"No,"  Victor  answered.  "I  see  with  my  finger- 
eyes,  'cause  I'm  a  night-boy.  Didn't  you  know  it?" 

"Why,  no,"  he  said  in  an  interested  tone.  "What 
a  smart  little  fellow!  Come  sit  on  my  knees  and  tell 
me  all  about  it."  And  Victor  consenting,  he  went 
on  with  his  examination  unsuspected,  while  Mr. 
Vaughn  explained  in  a  whisper  to  Mammy  the 
hopeful  import  of  his  visit. 

When  the  examination  was  over  and  they  had 
gone  on  downstairs  again,  she  stood  dreamily  watch- 
ing her  precious  little  master  with  a  loyal  light  of 
happiness  shining  in  her  eyes.  There  was  a  hope, 
a  wonderful  hope,  long  held  out  to  them  by  the  Lady 
of  the  Lighthouse,  and  now  seconded  by  this  stran- 
ger, and  as  she  thought  over  and  over  Mr.  Vaughn's 
whispered  words  to  her  her  heart  sang,  and  she 
started  humming  a  weird  tune  of  thanksgiving,  when 
suddenly  she  recalled  herself  to  the  present  and 
breaking  off  exclaimed  excitedly: 

"Lawdy,  ain't  dis  a  happy  happening  worl',  any- 
how!" Then  turning  to  Victor:  "And  now  darlin', 
you'se  got  to  hurry  sho'  'nough  or  us  will  be  late  to 
dat  party.  So  put  on  yo'  'high  geer'  as  Mr.  Vicky 
say  to  de  automobilly-goat — I  calls  it  dat  on  account 
of  its  manners  sometimes,"  she  chuckled — "and  come 
on,  let's  be  a-movin'!" 

"All  right,  I'm  ready,"  he  agreed,  giving  a  final 
tug  to  his  stocking. 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE       59 

And  so  leaving  the  room  they  went  out  and  were 
very  soon  entering  the  Lighthouse,  not  many  blocks 
away. 

"Why,  there's  Daddy-boy's  talk-noise — and  the 
Light-lady's  too,"  Victor  announced  as  his  quick  ear 
caught  the  sound  of  his  father's  and  Miss  Hope's 
voices  in  earnest  conversation.  "And  there's — there's 
Mr.  Night-man's,  too,"  laughing  with  pleasure  at 
this  display  of  his  own  acuteness.  "He's  come  to 
help  me  be  a  Torch-bearer,  Mammy;  'cause  he's  all 
sorry  and  dark  inside  like  I  used  to  be." 

"Humph,  hit  appears  to  me  Mr.  Vicky's  gittin' 
pow'ful  homeless,"  Mammy  said,  again  chuckling 
and  taking  notice  only  of  the  couple  whom  it  so  de- 
lighted her  to  see  together.  "He's  a  reg'lar  suffer- 
gette  what  wid  hurryin'  away  from  home  to  'tend 
to  other  folkses'  business  an' — Good  evenin',  Ma'am, 
Miss  Fust-cousin-to-de-angels,"  bowing  and  speak- 
ing aloud  as  Miss  Hope  came  swiftly  forward  to 
meet  Victor. 

"Hello,  Light-lady's  sunshine,"  she  said,  catching 
the  child  to  her  in  a  cuddling  hug.  "All  ready  for 
the  party?" 

"Yer-bet-yer-life!"  Victor  answered,  returning  the 
hug  with  interest. 

Miss  Hope  laughed;  but  Mammy,  very  much 
mortified  at  the  manner  of  his  answer,  drew  him 
from  out  the  lady's  encircling  arms  and  shook  him 
reproachfully. 

"Ain't  yer  'shame  yo'self?     I'se  a  good  min'  to 


60        THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

wash  yo'  mouf  out  wid  soap,  a  blaspheeming  like 
dat,"  she  scolded.  "You'se  gittin'  so  yer  talks  jes 
like  dese  little  Arabs  or  Americans  or  such  dat  runs 
de  streets,  an'  I'se " 

"I  am  an  American,"  Victor  broke  in  proudly. 
"The  Chivalry  Scout  said  so." 

"Well  he  don't  know  what  he's  talking  'bout!" 
Mammy  exploded  indignantly.  "De  idee!  An' 
ev'ry  one  of  us  Vaughns  from  Virginia!  You 
jes' " 

But  Miss  Hope's  laughter  drowned  the  rest  of  her 
sentence,  and  feeling  hurt  as  well  as  puzzled  at  such 
unwarranted  mirth  she  ceased  talking  and  followed 
them  as  they  began  slowly  moving  down  the  hall. 

"Here's  Mr.  Gilroy,  Victor,"  Miss  Hope  said  as 
they  reached  the  waiting  men  and  stopped  an  instant. 
"I've  been  showing  him  the  swimming  pool  and  how 
our  men  and  boys  play  ten-pins,  keeping  their  score 
in  raised  figures,  and  all  our  playtime  things,"  she 
smiled.  "And  to-morrow  we'll  take  him  to  the  men's 
workshop  so  he  can  begin  at  once  to  see  'Light 
through  work.'  But  now,"  taking  the  dazed  man's 
arm  and  leading  him  down  the  hall,  "Victor  will 
help  me  show  you  the  rest  of  our  Lighthouse,  won't 
you,  Shiny-boy?" 

"Yes,"  he  answered  eagerly,  trotting  along  hold- 
ing to  her  hand.  "Let's  show  him  the  Scouts  and 
the  Campies,  and  take  him  up  on  the  roof  to  the 
party." 

"All  right,  dear,  presently,"  Miss  Hope  agreed; 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE       61 

"but  right  now  we'll  go  in  here,"  indicating  a  door- 
way a  little  further  on.  "Come  with  us,  Mr. 
Vaughn.  And  wouldn't  you  like  to  also,  Mammy? 
I  must  see  what  my  fairy  rainbow-weavers  are  creat- 
ing to-day.  Besides,  Victor,  I  have  something  to 
tell  you  before  we  join  the  others." 

"The  party,"  she  explained  to  the  man  holding 
onto  her  arm,  "is  given  by  my  little  'night'  Campfire 
girls  to  their  more  fortunate  sister-organization  of 
the  public  schools.  That  is  one  of  the  things  we  try  to 
do  here,  teach  the  blind  children  to  take  their  places 
in  the  play-time  world  with  the  seeing,  just  as  we 
teach  you  grown-ups  to  take  yours;  for  from  experi- 
ence we've  found  that  being  in  the  society  of  seeing 
children  helps  the  little  blindies  overcome  many  de- 
fects caused  by  their  infirmity.  It's  charming  to  see 
them  playing  together,  too,  for  they  each  help  the 
other  in  many  ways,  the  seeing  children  acting  as  the 
blind  ones'  guides  in  most  of  the  games.  I'm  sure 
you're  going  to  like  us,"  she  concluded,  smiling  and 
patting  the  man's  trembling  arm  reassuringly  as  they 
entered  the  doorway. 

The  big  sunny  room,  filled  with  perfumed  flowers 
and  the  songs  of  birds,  now  a  bee-hive  of  busy  work- 
ers, was  the  same  one  that  had  held  the  holiday 
crowd  of  Victor's  first  day  at  the  Lighthouse,  and  as 
Miss  Hope  began  walking  about  it,  followed  by  the 
others,  she  explained  to  Mr.  Gilroy  the  work  that 
was  going  on  before  them.  A  few  lace-makers  and 
basket-weavers  sat  about  working  at  their  pretty 


62        THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

tasks,  while  dozens  of  women  and  girls,  their  faces 
filled  with  the  beauty  of  contentment,  sat  before 
looms  of  all  sizes  busily  engaged  in  working  shuttles 
back  and  forth;  and  as  they  click-clicked  rythm- 
ically  each  one  of  them  knew  with  a  certainty  of 
joy  that  she  was  weaving  the  web  of  her  independ- 
ence. 

It  was  wonderful  to  see  the  gaily  colored  rugs, 
table-covers,  draperies,  cobwebs  of  lace  and  rainbow- 
tinted  bead-bags  growing  to  their  lovely  completion. 
No  wonder  that  Miss  Hope  called  these  workers  her 
fairies,  for  their  exquisite  work  did  certainly  seem 
full  of  magic,  and  as  Mr.  Vaughn  took  in  the  happy 
scene  he  could  not  help  thinking  of  all  the  misery 
these  same  people  must  have  endured  before  the 
Lady  of  the  Lighthouse  found  them,  and  in  his  heart 
he  sent  up  a  prayer  of  thankfulness  for  her  very  exist- 
ence. 

"Shiny-boy,"  she  said,  holding  tightly  to  the  little 
hand,  "that  Teddy-bear  doctor  thinks  he  can  make 
you  see;  he  has  just  told  me  so;  but  it  will  be  months 
before  he  can  try.  I  tell  you,"  she  hastened  to  ex- 
plain, "because  we  are  all  very  hopeful  over  it,  and 
I  don't  believe  in  keeping  even  the  barest  chance 
of  hope  from  you.  He  made  me  see,  you  know,  and 
because  of  that,  and  our  friendship,  he  came  across 
the  ocean  to  see  you.  And  he  believes  your  case  is 
just  like  mine  was.  Do  you  understand  me,  dar- 
ling?" 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE        63 

"Y-e-s,"  he  answered,  only  dimly  comprehending 
her  words,  but  feeling  a  thrill  at  her  tone. 

"He's  going  home  today,"  she  continued,  her  voice 
very  sad  at  the  remembrance  that  she  could  not  do 
for  this  man,  who  had  done  so  much  for  her,  what 
he  had  again  asked  her  to  do,  "but  next  fall  when 
you've  grown  to  be  a  stronger  boy  he's  coming  back 
to  try  and  make  you  see.  Understand?" 

"Yes,"  he  said,  clinging  to  her,  however,  and  look- 
ing up  in  troubled  doubt.  "But  if  he  makes  me  a 
day-boy,  can  I  be  a  Scout?" 

"You  loyal  little  soldier!"  she  exclaimed  laughing, 
but  with  moistened  eyes.  "Of  course  you  can.  We 
need  both  kinds  of  Scouts,  those  who  can  see  and 
those  who  have  quick  ears  to  warn  us  of  approach- 
ing danger." 

"Then  I'll  let  him  come,"  he  decided  positively. 

"And  now  to  the  roof,  Lights  of  the  Lighthouse," 
she  called  in  a  clear  tone  to  all  the  workers,  having 
completed  her  cheery,  praise-giving  round.  "Come, 
put  up  your  work,  for  it's  time  to  play!"  And  as 
they  obeyed  and  sprang  up  with  eager  assent  she  led 
the  way  out  to  the  elevator. 

Alighting  they  stepped  upon  a  roof  that  had  been 
idealized  by  sweet-smelling  vines  and  flowers  planted 
by  loving  hands,  and  a  sea  of  happy  faces  met  her 
gaze.  Near  the  door  a  group  of  old,  white-haired 
women  were  seated  calmly  as  though  sure  of  the 
safe  harbor  they  were  in,  their  finger-eyes  examining 
each  stitch  as  they  felt  their  way  up  and  down 


64       THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

the  long  seams;  and  in  front  of  them,  both  hands 
fairly  flying  over  the  pages  of  a  big  book  that  rested 
upon  her  knees,  little  Meggy,  the  Lighthouse  Radi- 
ant, sat  reading  aloud  to  them.  A  little  beyond  this 
group  the  blind  orchestra  was  playing  well  the  mer- 
riest of  tunes  that  swelled  out  upon  the  soft  spring  air 
in  waves  of  joyous  sound,  while  seemingly  oblivious 
of  all  else  rose  the  shouts  and  laughter  of  nearby  girls 
as  they  danced  and  roller-skated  in  time  to  the  music, 
hair  flying,  faces  all  aglow,  a  veritable  whirlpool  in 
their  exuberance  of  spirits. 

"Aren't  they  splendid?"  Miss  Hope  said,  smiling 
toward  the  children.  "Who'd  ever  guess  that  half 
of  them  can't  see?"  Then  drawing  Victor  closer  to 
her  as  her  eyes  suddenly  clouded,  she  turned  to  Mr. 
Vaughn,  saying  in  a  changed  tone,  "and  most  of 
them  are  needlessly  blind,  too,  poor  dears!  Cases 
of  criminal  carelessness — infant  ophthalmia.  It's 
simply  inexcusable  that  a  great  government  like  ours 
should  allow  such  a  shameful  thing  to  occur!"  and 
her  face  flushed  in  just  indignation.  "With  proper 
midwife  laws,  whereby  every  nurse  and  doctor  in 
every  town  and  city  would  have  to  use  proper  pro- 
phylactics, and  swear  they  had  done  so  when  regis- 
tering a  birth,  all  this  kind  of  blindness  at  least  would 


cease." 


"Our  brutal  carelessness  is  horrible!"  Mr.  Vaughn 
agreed,  remembering  the  man  at  his  side  and  the 
terrible  lesson  which  he,  the  victim  of  his  careless- 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE        65 

ness,  had  taught  him  only  the  day  before.  "I 
wish " 

"Oh,  but  after  all  we  mustn't  forget  that  we're 
living  in  the  best  age  in  history,"  Miss  Hope  hastily 
put  in  in  her  exquisitely  optimistic  voice.  "It's  hard 
to  remember  sometimes,  but  we  are.  People  may  say 
what  they  please  about  the  social  and  moral  condi- 
tions, but  I,  personally,  don't  believe  there  ever  was 
a  time  when  there  were  so  many  wonderful,  beau- 
tiful things  being  done  for  the  betterment  of  condi- 
tions generally  as  there  are  right  now!  We  hear 
more  about  crime,  degradation,  vice,  perhaps,  but 
that's  because  it's  being  uprooted,"  throwing  her  head 
back;  "and  oh,  it's  glorious  to  be  in  the  fight!  Isn't 
it?"  turning  to  Mr.  Vaughn. 

"It's  glorious  to  be  winning  as  you  are  doing,"  he 
answered,  looking  with  amusement  at  a  laughing, 
whooping  group  of  young  Campfire  girls  who  at  the 
moment  danced  up  in  front  of  them  more  like  wild 
Indians  than  girls.  "It's  glorious,  too,  to  see  what 
normal,  healthy  girls  you're  making  out  of  all  these 
little  'night  children'  in  spite  of  their  great  afflic- 
tion." 

"I'm  not  making  them  so,"  Miss  Hope  hastened 
to  reply.  "It's  having  the  opportunity  that  is  doing  it. 
That's  all  most  of  them  need.  The  opportunity  to 
use  the  other  faculties  that  God  has  given  them  and 
not  be  treated  as  though  they  were  useless.  If  only 
the  public  realized  that!"  she  sighed.  "It's  so  ter- 
ribly hard  to  make  them  understand  that  by  educat- 


66        THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

ing  the  blind,  giving  them  the  opportunity  of  com- 
peting with  the  seeing,  that  they  are  not  only  helping 
the  blind  help  themselves,  but  are  also  relieving  the 
State  of  an  unnecessary  burden.  'There  are  none  so 
blind  as  those  who  will  not  see,'  however,"  she 
quoted,  "and  at  present  there  is  too  little  being  done 
to  give  them  that  opportunity." 

"But  the  blind  asylums  and  State  Commissions?" 
Mr.  Vaughn  questioned. 

"The  Commissions  are  excellent  things  in  the 
States  where  they  exist,"  she  answered,  "and  so  are 
the  asylums,  of  course;  but  some  of  the  asylums  still 
haven't  the  right  idea,  for  they,  like  the  public,  are 
far  too  apt  to  consider  the  inmates  helpless  creatures 
whose  only  due  is  to  be  housed  and  fed,  treated  with 
tolerant  kindness  and  sympathy,  and  taught  next  to 
nothing.  Of  course  that  is  not  true  of  them  all  by 
any  means.  But  here  I  go  sermonizing,  as  usual," 
she  broke  off,  laughing.  "Shiny-boy,  don't  you  want 
to  dance?  We'll  go  over  there  to  the  May-pole; 
that's  lots  of  fun!"  And  assuring  the  others  of  her 
immediate  return  she  lead  the  little  fellow  to  a  far 
corner  where  a  group  of  small  girls  were  merrily 
dancing  the  May-pole  dance,  skipping  about  among 
the  gay  streamers  of  colored  ribbons  in  an  infinite 
variety  of  pretty  figures.  Victor,  his  face  shining 
with  the  joy  of  the  unusual,  clasped  his  ribbon  and 
danced  gaily  away  after  them,  while  Miss  Hope 
started  on  her  return  to  the  others. 

As  she  did  so,  and  began  threading  her  way  in 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE        67 

and  out  'mongst  dancing  girls  and  women  who  had 
quickly  crowded  up  from  the  workrooms  below,  the 
orchestra  struck  up  "The  Wearing  of  the  Green." 
With  a  shout  of  pleasure  the  group  nearest  Mr. 
Vaughn  and  his  companion  joined  their  voices  to  the 
sound  of  the  instruments,  and  the  tune,  dear  as  it  is 
to  all  Irish  hearts,  floated  out  gay  and  free  above  the 
noise  of  the  merrymakers 

With  eyes  glowing  at  this  show  of  her  "night- 
children's"  spirits,  the  Lady  of  the  Lighthouse 
reached  the  men  and  was  about  to  speak,  when  Mr. 
Vaughn  laid  a  hand  of  warning  upon  her  arm  and 
looked  significantly  towards  the  man  at  his  side. 
She  allowed  her  eyes  to  follow  his,  and  as  she  saw 
the  other's  face  she  caught  her  breath  in  a  quick  in- 
take of  surprise.  All  misery  and  suffering  seemed 
to  have  passed  away  from  it,  and  in  its  place  there 
shone  a  great  happiness  transfiguring  his  whole  being 
as  he  listened  to  the  singing  near  him.  Then  with  a 
gesture  of  happy  abandon  he  raised  his  voice  and 
joined  them.  Clear  and  mellow  as  the  spring-time 
air,  sweet  as  the  perfumed  flowers  about  them,  it 
rang  out  true  and  glad,  soaring  up  and  up,  clearer 
and  clearer  in  its  perfect  beauty,  until  with  a  lovelier 
note  than  the  rest  it  drowned  every  other  sound  and 
went  on  mounting  into  the  heavens — alone. 

"O-h-h! — oh!"  Miss  Hope  exclaimed,  breaking 
the  stillness  that  had  enveloped  the  whole  assem- 
blage. "How  beautiful!"  And  she  drew  her  hand 
from  Mr.  Vaughn's  arm,  where  she  had  uncon- 


68        THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

sciously  laid  it  in  the  first  rush  of  pleasure  at  the 
man's  singing.  "Why  didn't  you  tell  me  you  were  a 
singer,  Mr.  Gilroy?  You  have  a  beautiful,  beautiful 
voice!" 

The  man  looked  dazed  for  a  moment,  then  as  the 
realization  of  what  he  had  done  came  to  him  he 
flushed  and  shrank  away  from  her  timidly. 

"Ah,  ma'am,  and  'tis  the  Blarney-stone  you're  after 
kissing,"  he  said,  trying  to  smile.  "And  it's  a  fool 
I  was  to  holler  out  like  that;  but  the  good  old  tune 
got  right  into  me  heart  and " 

"But  I'm  serious,"  Miss  Hope  interrupted  him. 
"You  have  a  wonderful  voice." 

"Ah,"  he  smiled  sadly,  "  'tis  kind  you  are  to  a 
poor  blind  man,  but " 

"Look  here,  man,"  she  said  earnestly,  "don't  you 
know  you  can  sing?  Hasn't  anyone  ever  told  you 
what  a  glorious  gift  God  has  given  you?  Why, 
you've  got  what  thousands  would  give  their  very 
lives  to  possess!"  she  continued,  carried  away  by  her 
enthusiasm.  "With  proper  training  you  could  do 
almost  anything  with  a  voice  like  yours!  It  would 
never  in  the  world  do  to  make  anything  but  a  singer 
out  of  him,"  she  said,  turning  to  Mr.  Vaughn. 
"We'll  get  a  good  teacher  at  once  and  begin  having 
him  taught.  All  the  best  music  comes  in  the  raised 
type,  you  know,  so  he  can  be  taught  very  easily. 
What  do  you  say,  Mr.  Gilroy?" 

The  man  stood  still  for  a  moment,  his  shoulders 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE       69 

stiffening  as  though  from  fright;  then  trembling 
violently  he  spoke  in  a  hoarse  whisper: 

"What  do  I  say?  What  do  I  say?"  he  repeated, 
and  fumbled  out  in  front  of  him  for  her  hand. 
"Sure  and  I  say,"  he  finished,  his  voice  gaining 
strength  as  he  went  on,  "that  the  blessed  Mother  has 
sent  you;  for  all  my  life  'tis  the  chance  the  like  of 
which  you  offer  me  now  that  I've'been  longing  and 
praying  for,"  and  a  sob  broke  in  his  throat. 

"Then  you  shall  certainly  have  it,"  she  assured 
him,  her  own  voice  hoarse  with  feeling.  "For  there's 
nothing  in  the  world  more  beautiful  than  to  be  able 
to  use  the  talent  that  has  been  given  you;  is  there?" 
again  turning  for  sympathetic  understanding  to  Mr. 
Vaughn. 

"Yes,"  he  said  slowly,  looking  at  her  with  deep 
seriousness.  "There  are  two  things  more  beautiful. 
One  is  a  life  like  yours — Lady  of  the  Lighthouse — 

and  the  other "  but  turning  on  his  heel  he  strode 

over  towards  Victor,  leaving  his  sentence  unfinished. 


ccpCeR  Six 


N  THE  CITY  the  summer  with  its 
hot,  thirsty  days  and  restless,  wakeful 
nights  had  come  and  gone  and  the 
Lady  of  the  Lighthouse  still  stood  at 
her    post    waiting,    watchful,    ever 
ready  to  hold  out  a  helping  hand  to 
those   who    needed    her   guidance. 
Each  one  of  her  crew,  thanks  to 
her,  had  had  an  outing  in  the  coun- 
try,   where    basking    in    the    sunshine 
midst  the  songs  of   birds   and  scent  of 
growing  things  they  had  become  happier 
and  rosier,  until  now  at  the  first  sign  of  win- 
ter they  took  up  their  tasks  with  renewed  en- 
ergy, resolving  more  earnestly  than  ever  to  be  a 
guiding  Light  to  some  other  traveller  in  the 
world  of  Darkness. 

Little  Meggy,  pale  and  sweet  as  a  lily,  came  as 
usual   to  shed   her   radiance   among  the   other 


72        THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

workers,  but  she  seemed  to  be  drawing  nearer  and 
nearer  the  Parent  who  had  lent  her  to  the  world  for 
only  a  short  time,  and  it  was  with  a  heavy  heart  that 
Miss  Hope  watched  her  flower-face  growing  more 
fragile  as  the  days  went  by. 

Mr.  Gilroy,  happy  and  healthy,  was  sailing  ahead, 
however;  and  as  he  met  and  breasted  each  new  wave 
of  experience  in  his  Ocean  of  Night  with  the  Light- 
house beacon  to  guide  him,  his  happiness  was  a  con- 
stant source  of  inspiration  to  the  Lighthouse  Keeper, 
and  she  felt  thankful  for  the  example  of  pluck  and 
good  courage  that  he,  a  beginner  in  blindness,  set 
all  the  rest. 

With  eager  fingers  he  had  quickly  learned  to  read 
the  many  combinations  of  raised  dots  that  form  the 
type  used  by  blind  people,  mastering  music  reading 
in  the  same  way,  so  that  now  as  the  months  flew  by 
and  he  knew  that  his  lifelong  ambition  was  being 
realized,  his  heart  was  full  to  overflowing  with  joy. 

Victor  all  this  time,  with  Mammy  as  Guardian 
Angel  and  the  little  Director  of  Chivalry  as  fre- 
quent guest,  had  been  living  in  an  old-fashioned 
farm-house  nestled  among  the  Berkshire  Hills.  Dur- 
ing the  summer  Miss  Hope  had  made  many  trips  to 
see  him,  each  time  writing  a  careful  report  of  his 
condition  to  Dr.  Frantz.  She  had  had,  as  Dr.  Frantz 
knew,  a  great  deal  of  practical  experience  among  her 
blind,  besides  which  she  read  and  studied  all  causes 
of  blindness  continually;  so  he  felt  she  was  entirely 
capable  of  judging  the  boy's  condition  until  such  time 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE        73 

as  he  could  come  over    and   take  charge  personally. 

It  was  with  a  glad  heart,  then,  that  she  saw  Victor's 
general  health  improving  so  rapidly.  Round  and 
rosy  as  a  little  cherub  he  danced  in  and  out  of  the 
woods  and  fields  all  day  long,  his  finger-eyes  finding 
much  that  was  beautiful  to  model  into  "feel-pic- 
tures," and  his  whole  being  radiating  the  happiness 
that  the  dawning  knowledge  of  this  gift  was  pro- 
ducing in  him. 

He  and  his  companion,  too,  had  been  laying  a 
deep-rooted  plot,  letters  flying  back  and  forth  be- 
tween them  and  the  Director  of  Chivalry  every  day, 
while  Mr.  Vaughn  acted  as  their  go-between  after 
his  every  week-end  visit. 

The  plot,  originally  Victor's,  had  now  grown  and 
spread  until  all  the  Scouts  in  the  Lighthouse  com- 
pany were  eagerly  talking  of  it  and  impatiently 
awaiting  his  return;  for  ever  since  Miss  Hope  had 
organized  them,  in  her  earnest  endeavor  to  give  her 
"night-children"  every  pleasure  and  advantage  en- 
joyed by  all  others  not  thus  afflicted,  they  in  return 
had  longed  ardently  to  do  something  for  her  to  show 
their  love  and  appreciation;  but  no  .satisfactory  plan 
had  yet  suggested  itself  to  their  minds.  And  now 
Victor,  the  youngest  among  them,  and  only  a  Scout 
because  she  had  asked  them  to  overlook  his  lack  of 
proper  years,  thought  of  this: 

They  should  make  her  their  Colonel! 

It  was  a  wonderful  idea,  and  the  enthusiasm  it 
called  forth  spread  like  wild-fire  through  the  ranks, 


74        THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

each  boy  feeling  in  his  loyal  approval  that  it  was  the 
one  honor  of  all  honors  that  was  really  fitting  for 
such  as  she. 

So  centering  his  whole  heart  upon  the  scheme 
Victor  worked  away  upon  it,  discussing  it  almost 
continually  with  his  father  and  his  other  companions 
in  the  mountains,  and  at  last  he  decided  that  he  him- 
self would  make  the  insignia  by  which  the  great 
honor  she  had  won  should  be  known  to  all  the  world. 
With  this  in  view,  therefore,  he  modelled  a  medal 
with  fingers  which,  though  small,  seemed  to  recog- 
nize and  reproduce  almost  instinctively  the  beauty 
of  harmonious  line  and  form.  Mr.  Vaughn  had 
promised  that  he  would  have  it  put  into  bronze  so 
that  she  might  always  wear  it.  This  new  indication 
of  his  son's  talent  was  really  a  very  creditable  piece 
of  work,  and  not  only  filled  him  with  pride  but  made 
him  happy  as  well,  because  he  knew  it  to  be  still 
another  sign  of  the  boy's  devotion  to  her  whom  he 
had  grown  to  love  more  than  all  else  in  life. 

And  now  that  it  was  all  finished  and  plans  for  its 
presentation  arranged,  Victor,  with  his  father,  took 
the  train  to  the  city  and  hurried  to  the  Lighthouse, 
filled  with  eagerness  at  the  prospect  of  once  again 
joining  the  fun  that  was  always  going  on  there. 

As  they  neared  its  doors  he  strained  more  and 
more  at  Mr.  Vaughn's  hand,  unable  to  curb  his  ex- 
citement and  every  moment  wanting  to  break  into  a 
run.  Suddenly  a  sound  of  merry  voices  and  the 
tramping  of  many  feet  reached  them,  and  he  pulled 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE       75 

away  and  rushed  headlong  up  the  few  familiar  steps. 

"It's  my  Scouties,  Daddy-boy,"  he  cried.  "Hurry, 
they  need  us!"  and  opening  the  door  he  burst  in 
upon  them. 

They  stood  in  a  long  double  row  before  him,  their 
feet  marking  time,  ready  to  march  at  the  first  word 
of  command;  and  realizing  that  he  was  in  the  pres- 
ence of  his  whole  Scout  company,  Victor  greeted 
them  joyfully. 

"Hey,  fellers!  It's  me;  I'm  back!"  and  he  rushed 
on  towards  them. 

"Why  Shiny!"  Miss  Hope  exclaimed,  catching 
hold  of  him  and  stopping  his  reckless  dash.  "How 
glad  I  am  to  see  you!  Ughm-ughm,"  and  she 
squeezed  him  to  her,  smiling  over  his  head  at  Mr. 
Vaughn,  who  was  just  entering.  "Aren't  you  glad 
to  see  your  'Light-lady?' ' 

Victor  hesitated  the  fraction  of  a  second,  then  put- 
ting his  arms  solemnly  about  her  neck  as  he  thought 
of  all  the  days  he  had  spent  away  from  her,  he  said 
slowly: 

"I'm  gladder  than  all  the  world  full  of  beauty  feel 
things,  cause  there's  nothing  feels  as  loving  and  nice 
as  you  do,"  trying  again  as  he  had  often  tried  before 
to  tell  her  of  his  love.  "And  it's  all  full  of  you  for- 
ever and  ever  and  ever.  Didn't  you  know  it?" 

"You  precious  little  love-maker!  You  haven't  for- 
gotten one  bit,  have  you?"  and  she  laughed  happily 
as  she  turned  to  Mr.  Vaughn.  "Have  you  told  him 
about  this  afternoon  and — tomorrow?" 


76       THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

Mr.  Vaughn  nodded  assent,  hastening  to  say,  how- 
ever, "Not  about  tomorrow — until  after  this  is  over." 

Fully  understanding,  she  went  on :  "You  must  fall 
in  line,  Shiny,  dear.  Here's  your  drum."  And 
leading  him  to  the  head  of  the  column,  which  was 
his  place  as  Littlest  Scout  and  Special  Drummer- 
boy,  they  all  marched  gaily  out  and  down  the  street, 
flags  flying,  feet  keeping  time  to  his  rat-a-tat-tat. 

On  they  marched  for  several  blocks  until  they 
came  to  a  big  armory  decorated  with  the  Stars  and 
Stripes  which  everywhere  mingled  with,  but  did  not 
outdo,  the  flag  that  stands  for  all  that  is  bravest  and 
best  in  our  American  boys  of  today.  There  they 
joined  the  throng  that  was  entering  its  doors. 

Martial  music  that  thrilled  everyone  present  was 
pouring  in  a  perfect  ecstacy  of  patriotism  out  of  many 
brass-throated  instruments,  and  as  the  little  blind 
Scouts  joined  the  companies  of  the  seeing  Scouts  that 
had  come  from  all  over  the  country  to  greet  their 
Chief  of  all  Chiefs,  they  felt  perhaps  more  keenly 
than  all  the  others  the  beauty  and  inspiration  of  the 
occasion. 

Miss  Hope  and  Mr.  Vaughn  following  them  in 
found  themselves  in  a  huge  hall  crowded  almost  to 
suffocation  with  hundreds  of  other  Scouts,  gay  in 
brand-new  uniforms;  and  after  saying  a  few  words 
to  those  in  charge  the  Lady  of  the  Lighthouse  led 
her  company  straight  down  through  the  parted 
throng  and  up  to  the  reviewing  stand.  Then  amidst 
the  cheering  of  thousands,  Lieutenant-General  Sir 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE       77 

Baden-Powell,  the  hero  of  all  Boy  Scouts  every- 
where, entered  the  stand  and  began  his  address.  In 
the  stirring  voice  of  a  brave  man  speaking  to  his 
equals  he  spoke  to  them  of  bravery  and  honor  and 
the  duty  of  all  Boy  Scouts,  especially  those  of  a  great 
and  glorious  country  like  America. 

Cheer  upon  cheer  greeted  his  every  sentence,  and 
once,  as  he  looked  about  in  acknowledgment,  he  no- 
ticed the  Lighthouse  troop  seated  behind  him,  rather 
out  of  things. 

"Those  boys  are  so  far  back  they  can't  see,"  he 
objected  to  one  of  the  men  in  charge.  "Bring  them 
forward." 

"But  they  are  a  blind  troop,  General,"  the  man  an- 
swered, "and  it  would  do  no  good." 

The  Lieutenant-General  turned  towards  them  and 
his  expression  softened  as  he  saw  their  brave,  sight- 
less faces  smiling  into  his. 

"Then  they  shall  be  my  Honor  Guard,"  he  said; 
"for  it  is  a  greater  thing  to  have  a  brave  heart  than  to 
have  an  eye  that  is  clear  and  limbs  that  are  straight." 

"Let  my  Honor  Guard  step  forward!" 

With  one  accord  the  boys,  thus  honored  above  all 
others,  stepped  out  in  front  of  him  and  saluted,  their 
faces  bright  with  proud  smiles.  With  heads  thrown 
back,  their  eyes  seemed  to  gaze  straight  into  his,  and 
to  those  watching  the  thought  came  that  never  was 
seen  a  more  thrilling  sight — these  brave  souls  who 
were  fighting  their  fight,  and  winning,  with  so  many 
odds  against  them. 


78       THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

"And  now,"  General  Powell  said,  as  he  concluded 
his  speech  and  descended  from  the  stand  during 
redoubled  cheering,  "remember  this:  that  the  best 
thing  every  Scout  can  do  is  to  live  up  to  the  Scout 
law  and  the  oath  he  has  taken:  To  be  Trustworthy, 
Loyal,  Helpful,  Friendly,  Courteous,  Kind,  Obedi- 
ent, Cheerful,  Thrifty,  Brave,  Clean,  Reverent.  And 
always  'Be  Prepared.' ' 

"5ft  3fc  $fe  yfr  •5(6' 

As  the  throng  crowded  its  way  out  and  Miss  Hope 
stood  telling  the  General  all  the  things  he  wanted  to 
know  about  her  "Night  Scouts,"  Victor,  his  cheeks 
flushing,  his  little  body  all  atremble  with  eagerness, 
came  up,  followed  by  the  rest  of  the  troop.  They 
swarmed  about  her,  and  he  took  her  hand  in  his, 
thrusting  something  into  the  palm  as  he  did  so;  then 
kissing  the  fingers  let  it  go. 

Before  she  could  speak,  or  understand  in  the  least 
what  was  happening,  the  Chivalry  Scout  stepped  up 
also  and  in  a  voice  full  of  emotion  said: 

"Lady  of  the  Lighthouse!  Today  we  have  seen 
and  been  honored  as  Scouts  by  our  Big  Chief,  and 
now  we  want  to  do  honor  to  the  one  who  has  made 
this  possible.  The  one  who  has  made  everything 
possible.  The  one  whom  we  honor  and  love 
above  all  others,"  and  his  voice  broke.  "We,  your 
blind  Scout  boys,  elect  you  the  Colonel  of  our  Regi- 
ment!" Then  turning  to  the  excited  boys  he  de- 
manded, regaining  the  full  strength  of  his  voice, 
"What's  the  matter  with  Colonel  Hope?" 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE        79 

"She's  all  right!"  came  the  answer  in  a  chorus  of 
young  voices  that  it  was  good  to  hear,  and  crowding 
together  they  cried  in  unison: 

"Three  cheers  for  the  Lady  of  the  Lighthouse!" 

"Ra!    Ra!    Ra! 
Here  we  are 
Lighthouse  Scout  boys, 
Ha-ha-ha!" 

and  laughing  and  pushing  each  other,  they  crowded 
closer  to  her  in  their  affectionate  good-will. 

Tears  sprang  to  Miss  Hope's  eyes,  but  looking  at 
the  little  badge  that  Victor  had  made  and  thrust  into 
her  hand  she  quickly  controlled  her  voice,  and  pin- 
ning it  upon  her  breast,  said  gravely  in  her  clear, 
sweet  tones: 

"Scouts,  you  are  deserving  of  your  title.  No 
greater  praise  can  I  give  you!  I  shall  wear  this 
badge  always,  for  I  am  very  proud  of  being  your 
Colonel.  God  bless  you,  every  one!"  and  stooping, 
she  gathered  the  Littlest  Scout  into  her  arms,  while 
Sir  Baden-Powell  and  those  with  him  stole  quietly 
away  from  the  scene. 

"And  now,  Little-man,"  she  said  presently,  uncon- 
sciously using  the  name  his  father  used,  for  the  first 
time,  "we  must  go  home.  Come,  Mr.  Vaughn.  We'll 
let  the  guides  take  the  others  back  to  the  Light- 
house. I  think  Victor  should  rest,  for  he  looks  a 
little  tired.  And  can  I  tell  him  about  tomorrow — 
now?"  she  asked  as  they  moved  away. 


80        THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

Mr.  Vaughn  drew  close  to  her  and  looking  anx- 
iously at  his  little  son  said  in  a  troubled  tone,  "Yes, 
tell  him  if  you  think  best,  though  personally  I  doubt 
the  wisdom  of  it." 

"I  don't,"  she  smiled,  "for  I've  been  preparing  the 
way  so  long. 

"Victor,"  and  she  held  his  hand  tightly  in  hers, 
"the  Teddy-bear  doctor  is  coming  tomorrow.  He's 
going  to  put  you  to  sleep  with  some  funny,  funny 
medicine,  and  then  while  you're  dreaming  he's  going 
to  try  to  help  your  eyes  so  that  when  you  wake  up, 
and  he  takes  off  all  the  bandages  that  he'll  have  to 
use  at  first,  you  may  be  able  to  see  me.  Aren't  you 
glad?" 

"Yes,"  the  little  fellow  answered,  stopping  and 
reaching  his  hand  up  to  caress  her.  "Yes,  I'd  rather 
see  you  than  anybody  in  all  the  world,  Light-lady!" 

"Then  God  grant  you  shall,  little  son!"  his  father 
said,  looking  at  them  both  with  a  light  of  great  ten- 
derness shining  through  the  mist  in  his  eyes. 


T  WAS  Christmas  Day.  The  Lady 
of  the  Lighthouse  closed  the 
door  behind  her,  ran  down  the 
steps  and  looked  at  the  snow- 
caressed  world  about  her. 

All  the  brownstone  houses  across 
the  street,  save  one,  were  festive 
with  holly-wreaths  in  every  win- 
dow. But  this,  though  wearing  a 
Christmas  air  elsewhere,  from  its 
second  story  turned  blind  eyes  to- 
ward her.  In  spite  of  that  fact, 
however,  she  looked  at  them  with 
a  smile,  and  as  though  summoned 
by  that  smile  one  of  the  shades  was 
suddenly  but  cautiously  drawn 
aside,  and  the  wrinkled,  kindly 
face  of  an  old  negro  woman 
peeped  out  at  her. 

With  a  wave  of  her  hand  and  a 
song  of  hope  in  her  heart  she 
swiftly  crossed  the  street,  ran  up 


82        THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

the  steps  and  rang  the  bell  just  as  she  had  done  on 
that  same  day  of  Glad-tidings  one  year  before. 

The  door  opened,  but  this  time  James  Henry's 
stolid  face  did  not  greet  her,  and  she  saw  instead  that 
of  Mr.  Vaughn. 

"Merry  Christmas!"  he  smiled,  "  'an'  as  many  mo' 
as  a  flower  like  you  deserves!''  Then  looking  at 
her  more  seriously  he  continued,  escorting  her  to- 
wards the  drawing-room.  "Dr.  Frantz  has  asked  to 
speak  with  you,"  and  as  she  reached  the  door  he 
stepped  aside,  allowing  her  to  enter  alone. 

The  doctor,  seated  near,  quickly  arose  and  coming 
forward  took  her  hand. 

"Dear,"  he  said,  and  she  frowned  slightly  at  the 
word,  "I  have  something  to  ask  of  you.  Oh,  not 
that,"  noticing  her  expression.  "I  shan't  bother  you 
with  that  again,"  and  he  looked  sadly  out  to  where 
Mr.  Vaughn  stood  waiting.  "I  think  I  know  how 
it  is  with  you,  now.  It  hurts;  but  if  you  are  happy — 
I'm  glad.  I  wish  to  speak  about  Victor.  Today  is 
the  end  of  the  waiting.  His  bandages  must  come 
off  and " 

"Yes,"  she  nodded,  "I  remembered;  that's  why  I 
came  so  early." 

"But  I'm  too  big  a  coward  to  do  it!"  he  finished 
desperately. 

Miss  Hope  looked  her  surprise,  and  he  continued: 
"Yes — I  don't  dare.  It's  probably  the  last  thing  that 
you'll  ever  ask  me  to  do  for  you  now,  and  if  I've 
failed — if,  after  all,  this  little  fellow " 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE        83 

"Do  you  mean  you'd  like  me  to  remove  them?" 
she  asked,  understanding  better  than  he  had  thought 
she  would,  and  yet  feeling  in  spite  of  herself  an  in- 
voluntary contempt  for  this  side  of  his  character 
which  she  alone  knew. 

"Yes,"  he  said  gratefully;  "if  I  have  succeeded  it 
will  give  you  great  joy  to  be  the  first  to  discover  it, 
and  if  I  have  failed — I  won't  see  your  disappoint- 
ment." 

"Very  well,"  she  consented,  and  started  from  the 
room.  Then  turning  impulsively  she  took  his  hand 
in  both  of  hers.  "Whatever  the  result  is,"  she  said 
with  deep  feeling,  "I  thank  you  from  the  bottom  of 
my  heart  for  coming.  I  owe  you  more  than  anyone 
in  the  world  I  sometimes  feel,  and  you  can  never 
know  how  distressed  I  am  to  have  caused  you  one 
moment's  sorrow  or  disappointment."  And  turning 
once  again  she  left  him  to  join  the  man  in  the  hall. 

"Come,  Mr.  Vaughn,"  she  said,  immediately  start- 
ing upstairs.  She  did  not  want  him  to  discover  how 
nervous  she  was,  now  that  the  crisis  had  come,  and 
she  realized  that  all  might  not  be  well  with  little 
Victor.  So  she  hurried  on,  not  daring  to  look  back. 

"But  isn't  Dr.  Frantz  going  first?"  he  asked  in  sur- 
prise, looking  anxiously  toward  the  drawing-room. 

"No,"  she  answered,  "I'm  going  to  be  the  first 

one  to  show  my  Shiny-boy  the  light  if — if " 

Then  her  courage  breaking  entirely  she  stopped,  and 
throwing  her  hands  out  in  a  gesture  of  quick  appeal, 
cried:  "Oh,  Mr.  Vaughn,  if  the  operation  hasn't 


84        THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

been  successful — if  he  shouldn't  be  able  to  see  after 
all — you'll  remember,  won't  you,  that  there's  lots  of 
happiness  and  'light'  left  for  him!  You'll — perhaps 
it  has  been  wrong  for  me  to  have  made  you  believe 
he  would  be  well,"  she  interrupted  herself  reproach- 
fully, "Perhaps- 

"Lady  of  the  Lighthouse,"  Mr.  Vaughn  said,  his 
voice  vibrant  with  a  great  love,  and  striding  up  the 
stairs  to  her  side  he  laid  his  hand  on  her  shoulder, 
looking  at  her  earnestly,  "I  understand  how  you 
feel ;  but  you  mustn't  give  way  to  this  fear.  Every- 
thing is  going  to  be  all  right.  And  even  though  it 
shouldn't  be,  I  know  now  that  if  he  never  sees  again 
the  world  will  not  be  really  dark  for  him.  He  has 
gained  your  affection,  and  that  is  such  a  wonderful, 
beautiful  light  to  him  that  he  can  never  be  wholly 
unhappy.  Come,  let's  go  to  him."  And  taking  her 
by  the  arm  he  led  her  gently  up  the  stairs  toward  the 
dimly  lit  room  above. 

As  they  neared  the  door  Mammy  stepped  back 
from  it  further  into  the  hall's  shadows,  curtsying  and 
mumbling  something  guiltily. 

"Why,  Mammy,  what's  the  matter?"  Miss  Hope 
asked,  noticing  her  sullen  countenance.  "Merry 
Christmas!"  and  she  held  out  her  hand. 

"De  same  to  you,  Miss  Fust-cousin-to-de-angels; 
but  I  doan  feel  merry  nor  nothin'  else  dis  Christ- 
mas!" and  she  rolled  her  eyes  indignantly  towards 
the  closed  door. 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE        85 

"What's  happened?"  Mr.  Vaughn  asked,  smiling 
at  her  childish  sullenness. 

"Now,  Mr.  Vicky!"  she  exclaimed,  more  indignant 
than  ever,  "you  askin'  me  dat  when  you  knows  as 
well  as  I  dose  jes'  'zactly  what's  always  a-happenin' 
since  dat  good-fer-nothin'-no-count  strained  nurse 
corned  here  an'  taken  my  baby  away  from  me!" 

"But  Mammy- 

"An'  I  tell  yer  right  now  I  ain't  gwiner  stan'  it 
much  longer,  neider,"  she  went  on  angrily.  "Me — 
his  own  flesh  and  blood  nigger  Mammy,  bein'  put 
out  by  dat  po'  white-trash  dat  ain't  got  no  mo'  sense 
dan  what  a  horsepittel  could  strain  into  her!  Why, 
what  yer  reckon  she  tole  me  jes'  now?"  she  exploded, 
turning  to  Miss  Hope.  "She  jes'  politely  opened  de 
doe  an'  tole  me  to  git  out,  dat  'her  patient  wanted  to 
res'!'  Me  who's  been  restin'  dat  chile  ever  since 
befo'  he  was  borned!"  And  tossing  her  head  back 
she  glared  at  the  door  in  question  as  though  trying 
to  pierce  it  with  her  angry  gaze  and  annihilate  the 
offending  one. 

"Oh,  I  guess  she  didn't  mean  anything,  Mammy," 
Miss  Hope  said,  trying  to  soothe  her.  "She  just 
didn't  understand  how  long  you'd  been  with  Victor." 

"Yes,  ma'am,  her  did,"  Mammy  stated.  "She's 
jes'  a  reg'lar  insulterer,  dat's  what  she  is!  Why,  de 
udder  day  she  axed  me  whar  I'd  learned  to  work  so 
good.  An'  I  jes'  tell  yer,  ma'am,  I  give  her  a  piece 
of  my  inflammation  sho'  'nough  den!  I  tole  her  dat 
I  wanted  her  to  distinc'ly  understan'  dat  I  hadn't 


86        THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

never  worked!  Dat  I  was  a  Vaughn  colored  lady,  I 
was,  an'  had  always  jes'  lived  wid  my  white  fambly 
an'  tooken  care  of  deir  chillens!  Humph!  Me 
workin'! 

"Oh,  Mammy,  you  mustn't  be  so  jealous,"  Mr. 
Vaughn  laughed.  "I  told  you  she'd  be  going  soon." 

"Jealyous?  Jealyous?"  the  woman  broke  out 
again.  "Now  who  say  anything  'bout  me  bein'  Jeal- 
yous, Mr.  Vicky?  An'  if  I  was,  which  I  ain't,  ain't 
it  a  puffec'ly  lady-like  convolution  of  de  Lawd? 
Doan  de  Good-book  tell  us  dat  de  green  youngster 
called  jealyousy  shall  enter  into  our  hearts?  But 
never-withstanding,  I  ain't  Jealyous.  Fse  jes'  tired 
of  somebody  else  a-holdin'  my  rightful  place.  Me 
wid  my  heart  almos'  burstin'  wid  need  of  'tendin'  my 
baby  dat's  sick,  an'  him  a-longin'  fer  dese  ole  black 
arms,  mos'  likely." 

"Well,  you  shall  soon  hold  him  all  you  want  to, 
Mammy  dear,"  Miss  Hope  cheered  her,  touched 
as  always  by  her  wealth  of  love  and  loyalty.  "And 
I  believe  soon  he  will  look  up  in  your  face  and  see 
how  much  you  love  him.  I'm  going  right  now  to 
take  off  his  bandages."  But  as  she  spoke  the  dread 
and  fear  that  had  assailed  her  before  swelled  up  in 
her  heart  again,  making  her  voice  shake  as  she  con- 
tinued, "Would  you  like  to  see  me  do  it?" 

The  faithful  old  soul  hesitated  a  moment;  then, 
realizing  what  the  next  few  minutes  might  bring 
forth,  sank  down  upon  the  floor  and  buried  her  head 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE        87 

in  her  snowy  apron.  Miss  Hope  turned  the  door- 
knob and  waited  for  her  answer. 

"No,  darling,  no,"  she  said  plaintively,  rocking 
back  and  forth.  "I  reckon  I  couldn't  bear  hit  if  I 
saw  dat  de  Lawd  had  turned  his  back  on  all  my 
prayers.  Bein'  kep'  in  suspenders  all  dese  las'  blind- 
folded days  is  jes'  about  wore  out  my  nervousness 

and  anxiety,  an'  I  reckon  I'll  jes'  wait  here  till " 

but  Miss  Hope  and  Mr.  Vaughn  had  entered  the 
room  and  closed  the  door. 

"Why,  hello,  Light-lady!"  Victor  cried  eagerly, 
trying  to  sit  up  at  the  sound  of  her  footsteps,  but 
gently  restrained  by  the  white-capped  nurse  at  his 
bedside.  "And  there's  Daddy-boy,  too!  Hello!" 

"Good  morning,  Shiny  darling,"  Miss  Hope  an- 
swered, quickly  crossing  and  putting  her  arms  about 
him.  "Do  you  know  what  day  it  is?" 

"No.  What?"  he  asked,  kissing  her  and  snuggling 
closer. 

"Christmas  day,  and  the  day  when— 

"Then  I'd  just  like  to  know  what's  become  of  old 
Mr.  Santa  Claus!"  he  exclaimed,  his  mouth  going 
down  at  the  corners  with  disappointment.  "Just 
'cause  I'm  sick  he's  played  hookey  and " 

"No,  dear,"  she  hastened  to  comfort  him.  "He 
told  me  to  tell  you  this:  that  as  today  was  the  time 
when  good  Dr.  Frantz  said  you  could  have  your 
bandages  taken  off,  he  would  wait  until  tomorrow. 
Then  he'll  bring  you  an  extra  lot  of  nice  things  to 
pay  you  for  being  so  patient." 


88        THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE 

The  mournful  curve  of  Victor's  mouth  changed 
somewhat  at  this  message  and  the  Light-lady  went 
on  in  a  persuasive  tone.  "You  mustn't  mind  waiting 
for  Santa  Claus  when  you're  going  to  get  rid  of  these 
uncomfortable  old  things  today,"  and  with  icy  fin- 
gers, steadily  controlled  howrever,  she  began  to  re- 
move the  wrappings  about  his  head  and  eyes. 

It  seemed  to  Mr.  Vaughn,  as  he  stood  watching  her 
for  the  first  few  seconds,  that  it  would  simply  be  im- 
possible for  him  to  bear  the  agony  of  suspense— that 
her  quietly  moving  hands,  with  those  of  the  nurse, 
would  drive  him  insane  if  they  did  not  hurry;  and 
growing  more  and  more  nervous  as  they  unwound 
the  yards  of  clinging  gauze  he  finally  turned  away, 
little  guessing  the  mental  suffering  that  she,  the 
Lighthouse  Keeper,  was  enduring,  as  she  anxiously 
and  fearfully  did  what  she  most  shrank  from  doing, 
for  his  and  his  little  son's  sake. 

At  last  the  lowest  pad  was  reached  and  with  a 
supreme  effort  of  will  she  lifted  it  off,  and  Victor 
opened  his  eyes. 

"Darling!"  she  cried  brokenly  as  she  gazed  deep 
down  into  their  clear,  lighted  depths.  "Oh,  darling, 
you  can  see  me,  can't  you?" 

"Yes,  Light-lady,"  he  answered  weakly,  awed  and 
rather  frightened  at  this  miracle  of  light  after  his 
year  of  blindness.  "And  I  can  see  Daddy-boy's  back, 
too!" 

Mr.  Vaughn  wheeled  about  and  with  the  tears 
streaming  unheeded  down  his  cheeks  knelt  by  the 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LIGHTHOUSE        89 

side  of  his  little  son's  bed  and  clasped  him  to  his 
breast. 

"God  bless  you,  Light-lady,"  he  said;  "God  bless 
you!" 

"Amen,  brudder!  Amen!  Now  youse  talkin'!!" 
Mammy  yelled  hysterically,  flinging  open  the  door 
and  bursting  into  the  room  as  the  glad  sounds  of  suc- 
cess reached  her  ears.  "Glory  Hallelujah!  An'  may 
the  Earth  resoun'  with  His  Glory  for  sendin'  this 
most  blessedest  Angel  down  to  bless  us!"  and  she 
threw  herself  at  Miss  Hope's  feet,  looking  up  into 
her  lovely  face  with  a  look  of  adoration,  then  break- 
ing out  into  a  low  chant  of  fervent  happiness. 

Suddenly  from  out  the  window,  clear  and  sweet 
as  the  Christmas  chimes,  there  came  a  sound  of  sing- 
ing, and  as  it  mounted  to  those  gathered  about  the 
little  Sunshine-boy  it  grew  clearer  and  clearer  in  its 
perfect  beauty,  and  the  words  seemed  like  a  bene- 
diction. 

"It's  Mr.  Night-man,"  Victor  said  when  the 
Christmas  song  had  ceased,  leaving  behind  it  the 
blossoms  of  sweet  thoughts  that  it  had  raised  in  the 
listening  hearts,  "and  he's  all  glad  and  happy  inside 
like  me  now.  Isn't  he,  Daddy-boy-chum?" 

"Yes,  Little-man,"  his  father  agreed.  "We  are  all 
happy  because,  as  Mammy  says,  the  Lord  sent  us 
down  his  blessedest  angel — The  Lady  of  the  Light- 
house!" 


'^^SH^^M: 


*' /^^sPzSPt ! !  jam 


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